Vale of Clwyd MP Dr James Davies is supporting Rhyl Rugby Club in its quest to secure funding from HM Government to improve the club for community use.
The club is in the process of applying for funding from the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) and James recently met with club officials to discuss the proposals and provide advice and guidance with the process.
Since moving to its current base on Tynewydd Road, Rhyl, in January 2019, the club has gone from strength to strength, and demand has now outstripped supply.
They are therefore looking to expand the premises with an additional function room and an indoor training barn.
James has been supportive of the plans since they were first mooted and has met club officials on a number of occasions in a bid to progress their proposals.
Following his most recent meeting, he said:
“What Rhyl Rugby Club is hoping to achieve would be hugely beneficial to the people of Rhyl.
“In the four years that they have been at the Tynewydd Road site, they have become a real hub of the local community with a great many organisations and groups using their premises.
“An additional function room and indoor training barn would enable them to further extend their offer to many more groups and individuals.
“They are also looking at working with Llandrillo College in Rhyl, which has no sporting facilities at all. The development would be a real asset to young people in the town.”
Rhyl Rugby Club Chairman, Tony Evans, said:
“When we moved to the Rhyl site in 2019 the new premises were developed entirely by the club, with £700,000 of our own money.
“Since that time the club has grown hugely, along with the demand for the use of the building by local groups and organisations.
“The number of junior members we have for example has more than doubled, from 150 when we relocated, to us now having 360 under 16s.
“We also have a new ladies team and a successful adult team.
“We are used by a great many community groups on a weekly basis, from dance groups to widows and widowers. We also do a great deal for the disabled, including hosting a disco for adults with learning disabilities from across the county every Monday evening.
“There is a real demand for the use of the building, but sadly we are currently unable to meet it and are having to turn people away.
“There is a real lack of comparable facilities in the area and a second function room would enable us to meet the demand.
“The additional community space and an indoor training facility would be available for schools and community use seven days a week.
“An independent feasibility study has been carried out and it will hopefully go before planning in mid March.”
Tony added:
“If the bid is successful then it really would leave a lasting legacy for the community to use, at a time when local authorities are struggling to provide this facility. We would also look to use local contractors.
“James is being very supportive and pointing us in the right direction.”
Tynewydd Ward County Councillor Brian Jones, who has also been actively working with the club since they first announced their plans, said:
“Rhyl Rugby Club is a not-for-profit club. What they have achieved to date has been phenomenal, and all with their own money.
“Securing funding for this project would be fantastic, but the day that the ribbon is cut is when the real benefits to the local community will start.”
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is one of the Government’s ‘levelling up’ schemes, and at the start of this month Denbighshire County Council opened the application process for a tranche of the £25.6 million the county is set to receive.
James has previously said:
"This investment will help local residents in the Vale of Clwyd to fulfil their potential, while reducing regional inequalities that have been left untouched for too long."
