How many of you can remember the old wooden pavilion on the Sports Field and back to the days of the Walter Cross’, Merlin & Trevor Jones’ and the Edrich family. That pavilion was a new acquisition – built to the specifications of the day and many an hour was spend re-living memorable games. Little by little, this ‘sacred’ building deteriorated until, sadly, because of its’ hazardous condition, had to be replaced.

 
Several dedicated people spent many hours fundraising to provide a ‘new pavilion’, which, at the time was built as a modern, adequate and purposeful construction and a real credit to those who battled long and hard to bring the facility into the 20th Century.  Of course, in those days there weren’t the Funding Bodies about that there are today; there weren’t as many Health & Safety rules and regulations that there are today AND the phrase ‘Political Correctness’ was unheard of.  The occasional window may have been broken due to a wayward ball but on the whole, boys and girls, young and old were able to use the pavilion for the intended purpose very well, thank you very much.

 

Existing Pavilion

 
During the passage of time, Health & Safety, Child Protection, Vulnerable Adults etc etc have crept into our lives…what a nightmare!  Understandably, it’s no longer acceptable for girls and boys or juniors and seniors to ‘mix’ in a changing room, which, in a nutshell, brings us to where we are today – the 21st Century.

Across the Charity, ALL sporting and community groups have their own Health & Safety, Child Protection, Vulnerable Adults and ‘Respect’ policies in place but for some groups, this is not sufficient and their sporting governing bodies INSIST upon more rigorous, in depth precautions.  Junior Football, for example, have had to work very hard and involve all mangers and coaches to get accreditation and certification in a Charter Standard. This has been extremely time-consuming, costly and they face ever-changing boundaries, set by the FA, to enable them to maintain that Standard.  Credit must be given to these people, who, as VOLUNTEERS, give up their time to train and nurture these young footballers AND ensure their safety whilst in their care. They can do no more……..Our changing facilities are no longer acceptable to the FA and so the need for this proposed upgrade to Heacham Club Charity facilities.

We are under no illusion here; this venture is going to be an uphill struggle to secure sufficient funds to enable the project to be completed.

Fortunately, the FA and Football Foundation are extremely supportive and have pledged £100,000 toward the anticipated overall cost of £244,000. No matter how you do the maths, the balance for us to find is huge.

Unfortunately for us, many of the National Funding Bodies have closed their doors at this time so that means fundraising in earnest locally. Letters are being sent to major manufacturers and supporters of football, requesting support which will hopefully be a major source of income but for us to secure the £100,000 on offer from the FF, we MUST be able to show local support and that our community is accepting the need for this improvement to our sports users across the age-range.
 

 

New Build will look
similar to this

Many plans have been drawn of what we would like to see built but Football Foundation have their ideas as well and will only fund to their specifications; not least of which is JUSTIFICATION, FUNCTIONALITY, EASE OF MAINTENANCE and SUSTAINABLITY. These few words have dictated the building that we must go with to get the huge chunk of funding.  We will be the first to admit – it’s far from pleasing to the eye but if it meets the requirements, does that Really matter?

A square building with a strange shaped roof housing showers, toilets and changing rooms (all disabled friendly).  Justifiable?  Yes.  Functional? Yes. Low maintenance? Yes.  Sustainable? Yes………….

 
The existing pavilion is to be upgraded and will still have toilets, showers and changing rooms BUT it will also have a proper kitchen area AND an extended community area. FF have acknowledged the need for this so other functions / events can continue on our Sports Field, and can be added to.
  

It is our wish that once complete and monies have been paid over and the project ‘signed off’ by the FA and FF, we will then ADD to the old pavilion and provision has already been made in the plans to put in a balcony and clock tower to upgrade the facility for cricketers. Obviously this is in the future but if all goes well, only 5-7 years down the road. Sketches either side illustrate this.