Introduction
Kidsgrove Sports Centre was opened in 1973, following community fund raising and donations to ensure that the North Staffordshire Town of Kidsgrove had access to community leisure facilities. For over 40 years many thousands of local residents and school children have used the centre, whether that be learning to swim or simply making use of the extensive sports hall and team sports that the centre offered.
Why are we Crowdfunding?
Newcastle Borough Council is currently undertaking a £7.5million refurbishment of Kidsgrove Sports Centre, however we need to raise vital funds for fixtures and fittings which will be used within the centre.
We want Kidsgrove Sports Centre to provide outstanding community leisure facilities accessible to all. Enabling everyone to be able to participate in an active and healthy lifestyle, supporting not only this generation but future generations.
We are looking to raise funds to help pay for equipment within the sports centre, which would enable us to offer the widest range of facilities and activities which will be affordable and accessible to all.
We want to equip the centre with the widest range of equipment possible, enabling us to offer activities that will appeal to everyone. We aim to ensure that the centre very much at the heart of the community, providing activities that improve physical, mental and social well-being. As a result we would like to raise as much money as possible, enabling us to purchase the widest range of equipment possible. We want users of Kidsgrove Sports Centre to no only own the centre, but have the widest range and quality of facilities.
We would love to raise as much money as possible, enabling us to provide outstanding community facilities, accessabe to all; however initially we are just targeting £30,000 which would get us started and off the ground.
How can you help?
- By offering a Prize or Reward that members can purchase
- By purchasing a reward or by making a donation
All of the money raised will be spent on kitting out Kidsgrove Sports Centre to provide high quality leisure facilities for everyone.
Original Closure
Sadly in 2017 Newcastle Borough Council made the decision to close Kidsgrove Sports Centre. This decision led to a huge outpouring of public support, with over 350 people packing out a public meeting called at Kidsgrove Town Hall.
This closure galvanised the local community to pull together collectively to ensure that community lesisure facilities were not lost for future generations. The Kidsgrove Sports Centre Communty Group (CIO) was founded with one simple aim; To reopen Kidsgrove Sports Centre as a chariable community led centre. The board of trustees initially was made up of local residents with a keen passion to deliver this aim and success was quickly achieved when Kidsgrove Sports Centre was listed as an Asset of Community Value. This prevented the centre from being demolished and allowed time for plans to be developed on how Kidsgrove Sports Centre could be brought back to life.
Our Challenges & Successes
The process of reopening has been far from simple. The first major hurdle was convincing everyone, including a skeptical public that is was achievable. However the biggest challenge was convincing those Councillors who closed the centre, to look again at the proposal and idea of community ownership that was now on the table. The continued pressure of the local community, started to create momentum and the closure of Kidsgrove Sports Centre was clearly not going to be forgotten, however it was not looking positive at that point the Council was going to be supportive of our vision.
It was a stroke of luck which revived our fortunes, when the Council leader was forced to resign and a new Leader and administration came into Office. The new Leader was supportive to our vision, which then enabled a mammoth phase of business planning, discussions and some heated discussions at time to commence. We also were now starting to have success in securing some backing from Sport England to help employ experts who could assist with business planning and development. This support was invaluable as it demonstrated the need and case for a charitable community leisure centre in Kidsgrove existed.
Now that we had the backing of the newly led Council who shared the community vision we presented, progress could start at a pace. As an organisation we set about bolstering our Trustee board, bringing in additional members with specific leisure and financial knowledge and experience. In addition to this the Council committed to funding a £7.5million renovation scheme for Kidsgrove Sports Centre which would be leased to the community upon completion for a nominal fee.
Renovation & Facilities
The centre is currently undergoing renovation and is planned to be completed in Spring 2022, when it will then be reopened to our community. This will once again provide affordable community leisure facilities which everyone within the community will be able to access.
The renovated centre will include:
- 25m 6 Lane Swimming Pool
- 4 Court Sports Hall (Largest in Borough)
- Large Fitness Suite / Gym
- Large Dance Studio
- Dedicated Spin / Indoor Studio
- Community rooms and facilities
- Physiotherapy room
All of these facilities will be affordable and available to everyone within the community. As an organisation we aim to not only operate Kidsgrove Sports Centre, but ensure that we increase community participation and involvement, enabling an improvement in mental, physical and social well-being.
Aims
As a charity we are dependent on grants and generous donations from the public. Reopening the Sports Centre comes with huge costs for equipment and fixtures and fittings. These are costs that as a charity we need to cover and we are looking to crowd fund to help enable us to be able to provide a facility of the highest quality to everyone.
We are aiming to raise enough money to ensure that the centre offers a high quality experience and demonstrates the true potential of community power and togetherness.
Our Vision
As a charitable centre every single £1 spent in the centre, will be reinvested back into the centre and the local community. We don't just aim for the centre to survive, we want it to thrive! This means that we need to harness the power of our community once again to ensure that the centre opens fully equip, offering the best quality experience for everyone.
The Future
Kidsgrove Sports Centre will reopen in Spring 2022. We want to ensure that the centre inspires generations and improves the mental, physical and social well-being of our community.
Rewards
We would love your help and support and as a token of appreciation along with the generosity and support of some local businesses we have been able to offer some must have rewards on our page.
How our project will be United by Birmingham 2022
In recognition of the Commonwealth Games coming to the West Midlands in Summer 2022, Kidsgrove Sports Centre will be holding a range of activities and events throughout the summer, which celebrates the Commonwealth Games and encourage participation from all age groups and abilities. These activities will be the prefect way to bring together everyone from our community, whilst most providing the opportunity to engage in many of the sports which make up the Commonwealth Games.
We want to ensure that these games really do help us to inspire a generation!
What better way to celebrate the Commonwealth Games coming to the West Midlands!