Clubhouse re-opens after makeover

A RUGBY club has reopened its clubhouse after it faced closure earlier this year when asbestos was found in the roof.

Reading Rugby Football Club in Sonning needed to raise more than £150,000 to renovate the building but after asbestos was found in the roof, another £145,000 had to be found.

A leak was also discovered in the club’s kitchen before Christmas which affected the electrics and further damaged the roof, meaning the entire electric system also needed replacing.

The total refurbishment cost £500,000, which covered a complete roof replacement, the upgrading of changing rooms, a new kitchen and essential accessibility and safety upgrades.

Yuan Yang, Labour MP for Woodley and Earley, cut the ribbon to officially reopen the facility at Holme Park.

More than 200 guests attended including representatives from Reading Blue Coat School, parish and borough councillors and their sponsors Select Car Leasing and Lantec Security based in Reading.

Club chairman John Kelly said: “We were confident in our abilities to do the necessary [fundraising]. We were determined that we would save the club but, without the significant community effort, we wouldn’t have been close to what we needed.

“We are now ready to embark on the next phase of our journey to safeguard rugby for boys and girls alike and to look forward to the next 125 years at Holme Park.”

The club which opened in 1898, launched one of the county’s first women’s teams in 1990, and now supports more than 1,000 members, from under-6 minis to senior squads, veterans and the mixed-ability Berkshire Brigands team.