THREATENED RUGBY CLUB DRAWS UP AN ACTION PLAN

CREDITON Rugby Club has produced a document to raise awareness of its huge contribution  to the community after its expansion plans were cast into doubt.

The 131-year-old club, which has 642 members, including 376 under- 18s, fears for its future  if a school is allowed to be  built on its current site.

The Blagdon ground, in Exhibition Road, was previously designated for residential development. But Mid Devon District Council wants to see it used it for a new school to replace Queen Elizabeth’s Community College, which  currently straddles two sites.

The club had hoped to fund its relocation and expansion by selling Blagdon to a housing developer. But if the ground is earmarked for a new school,  education chiefs at , Devon County Council will only be obliged to find  the club  a replacement site of  similar size.

Club officials also believe the school is unlikely to be developed for many years yet, leaving them in limbo.

To fight back, the club is preparing to print 1,000 copies of a  14-page report detailing the contribution the club makes to the whole community.

And the club has already received messages of support from other clubs around the country, Sport England and the sport’s governing body, the RFU.

Club chairman Eddie Trick says the plans would impact  on the whole community.

“It’s frightening how few people are fully aware of the implications,” he said. “But there are also non-club members in the town who are up in arms about what it would mean for the club and the community.”

Mr Trick says the club is the biggest youth organisation in Mid Devon.

“The pressure on our facilities is so great,” he said. “We’ve got 250 people using the training pitch and can’t do quality training because it’s so muddy. We’ve also had to cancel games and the kids are so disappointed.”

He also said new pitches and changing facilities would allow the club to run women’s and girls’ teams, in which there had been “massive interest”.

The school site proposal was included in Mid Devon District Council’s development plan document, covering development in the whole district up to 2026. The public was invited to comment on the document during the consultation period, which ended last Tuesday.

The district council received  more than 50 comments relating to Crediton Rugby Club.

Simon Thornley, Mid Devon District Council’s senior planning officer, said the council had not finished logging the comments so final numbers could be higher.

He said: “It’s for Devon County Council to advise us of  an appropriate site for the new school, and they showed us a site that included the rugby club. Our assumption was that the county council had consulted with the club before making the proposal.”

Mr Trick said: “We don’t think the county council realises the importance of the club to the town and surrounding villages.”

He said the clubhouse was used for community events, from weddings to company meetings, and the club has raised more than £25,000 for charity over the last six years.

He said the document currently being produced by the club would help make councillors, the inspectorate and the public aware of the strength of feeling.

A Devon County Council spokesman said: “We have flagged up with Mid Devon District Council that, in the long term, the rugby club could be a potential new site  if the club wanted to move. An officer is visiting  the club to discuss all these issues but absolutely no firm plans or proposals have been made and these are merely issues for discussion.”