Rugby Gymnastics Club set to move into £2.3m purpose-built facility
The local community, businesses, charities, and individuals all helped to fund the build.
A grass-roots gymnastics club in Rugby is “overwhelmed” by the generosity of the local community, as they set to move into a £2.3 million facility after over 15 years of planning.
Rugby Gymnastics Club will move into a new, purpose-built building, on land owned by Rugby Borough Council, by the end of May with Phase One of the building’s construction now finished.
Grants from organisations such as Sport England and Rugby Borough Council helped fund the move - while local businesses, charities and individuals also stepped in at various points to get the project over the line.
Gill McKee, Development Director at Rugby Gymnastics Club, said: "We’ve been overwhelmed by the generosity of the Rugby community in helping us get to where we are.
"For the size of our club and the level of our gymnasts, we needed a superb facility to match our ambitions. We now have over 1,000 members and a very long waiting list, and we’ll now be able to accommodate that demand and grow the club even further."
The facility, which is 9m in height and has a floor area of 21,000 sq ft, is capable of hosting national competitions thanks to the standard of equipment and the building’s size.
Gill said: "We had been based at Lower Hillmorton Road since the club was founded over 40 years ago – the original founders had been inspired to start a club after watching Olga Korbut perform.
"But even 20 years ago the club was hopeful of moving out as the site was just too small. It’s overwhelming that we’re now finally ready to move in - it’s been such a long time in the making."
She added: "We have lots of exciting plans for the future, and we think the move will be the start of a wonderful new chapter for Rugby Gymnastics Club."
The process of finding a new site, getting enough funds, and acquiring the right permissions while also coping with the pandemic and the rising costs of materials significantly delayed the move.
Leamington-based law firm Wright Hassall was instrumental in advising the club on the many legal processes it had to overcome along the way.
David Slade, partner at Wright Hassall, said: "This has been an incredibly complex move for Rugby Gymnastics Club, with land rights, planning permissions and various other hurdles that the club needed to vault over before getting to this position.
"We are delighted to have supported the club in completing the various legal processes needed to make its dream a reality, and we cannot wait to see more and more budding gymnasts take up the sport in Rugby."
While the first phase of the project is complete, funding for Phase Two to include a mezzanine with a viewing area, café, and meeting rooms is not yet there.
The Club is still actively seeking further donations and funding to help build the very much needed mezzanine level.