Changing the face of sport in Wotton forever (From Gazette Series)

Changing the face of sport in Wotton forever

THE dawn of a new era was celebrated at Wotton-under-Edge Rugby Club this week as work got underway on the club's new pitch, the first step in an exciting new sports development project that has taken the town by storm.

The 'New Road Sports Development Project' is the brainchild of the Wotton Community Sports Foundation, various council groups as well as the town's sports clubs.

The construction of the new rugby pitch at the project's site in New Road is the first step in this initiative, with a formal pegging-out and turf cutting ceremony on Monday marking the start of the project's first phase.

Site work on the new pitch and facilities is now underway, with plans including the installation of a drainage system and drainage pond.

The New Road sports complex, when completed, will house a range of sports clubs and teams and will ultimately become Wotton's sporting mecca.

Wotton Rugby Club, who play in Gloucestershire Division Three South, will be the first sports club to take up residence at the New Road site. Relocating from their current home at Katharine Lady Berkeley's School, the idea is that the team will be able to play their home games at the new site by the start of the 2006-07 season, when the facilities are completed.

Club chairman Phil Gibbs said: "This is fantastic news for all concerned. It is a real boost for the development of sport in the town and a major step forward in establishing a great local facility for rugby."

A number of other Wotton Community Sports Foundation plans for the New Road site are also now at an advanced stage.

These include proposals for a bike track by the Kingswood Bridges Project and four football pitches and some purpose-built changing facilities for Wotton Rovers Football Club.

Wotton Rugby Club spokesman Robin Drake said: "The long term final aim for the New Road site is to provide a first-class recreational facility for the local community of Wotton-under-Edge, with opportunities for a range of sports including football, cricket, tennis, rugby, hockey, biking and skateboarding.

"Wotton Rugby Football Club would like to take this opportunity to thank the Wotton Community Sports Foundation, Wotton Town Council, Stroud District Council, Rugby Football Foundation and Renishaw for their support of this phase of the project."

The new era could not have gotten off to a better start on Monday as former Bristol captain, England international and British and Irish Lions representative Mike Rafter helped set the proceedings in motion by attending the pegging-out and turf cutting ceremony.

As the foundations were laid for the new pitch, excitement and anticipation gripped the air as the possibility of a whole new Wotton sporting dynasty suddenly began to take shape.