Back of the net – Oaklea strikes again!
Oaklea have come off the bench to assist with a major goal for a Cumbrian sporting club – that will help young people stay fit and healthy and bring benefits to the wider community.
(On the ball – Michael Saint, and Jock Nugent from AFC)
People living in Eden are set to benefit from fresh investment into local football facilities. Appleby Football and Squash Club have been awarded a grant from the Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation, to upgrade their facility.
The Football Foundation is the UK’s largest sports charity and exists to improve the experience of playing football for everyone, by championing fair access to quality facilities (Grassroots football matches and training cannot take place at the moment due to the COVID-19 outbreak and will only restart when it is safe to do so following government advice but this funding is great news for local football in the meantime).
This funding, combined with a grant from Eden District Council’s Eden Community Fund (£7,000), will enable Appleby Football Club, the chance to improve their changing room facilities.Players will be able to enjoy refurbished changing facilities which will represent a significant improvement on the existing changing room, which needs renovation.
Oaklea steps up and strikes -for everyone….
The successful bid came about because Appleby Football Club and The Oaklea Trust worked with the Football Foundation and the County FA to secure a £22,356 grant towards the project. Michael Saint, Appleby Football and Squash Club representative said: “The club wishes to express its grateful thanks to The Oaklea Trust for all the tremendous work undertaken by it in obtaining this funding.”
Super Sub Sue Green, Director at the Oaklea Trust, came off the bench to help deliver the application. She says: “We are thrilled to have been able to help the club, as part of our ethos of Supporting Stronger Communities. We hope the improved facilities will ensure young people from the Eden community will be able to enjoy more physical recreation, getting involved and keeping healthy.”
They shoot – they score….
AFC then undertook a tendering process -and received 3 bids to do the work….Michael adds: “At a management meeting of the club on 23 June 2020 the committee unanimously agreed that the proposed works at the club’s building be undertaken by Oaklea Trust’s CIC Right to Work, via their property and grounds maintenance business, Community Works. A start date would be in approximately 10 days (early July 2020) with an estimated completion by 7 September. The estimate has been approved by the Chairman, Secretary and myself as Treasurer so we would wish you to proceed.”
You can keep up to speed with how the project develops via our social media channels – plus Community Works webpage Community Works (which also takes their Facebook feed)