An Inspired Facility! Press Release – 29/08/2014

The John Clements Sports & Community Trust - Press Release – 29/08/2014

Last week Codicote Parish Council agreed a licence to build a new Sports and Community Centre with the local charity, The John Clements Sports and Community Trust.

With the existing Centre in need of being replaced, the Trust has been planning and raising money for a brand new facility in memory of the heroic local PE teacher and sportsman, John Clements, who gave his life saving the lives of 35 children on a ski trip in Italy in 1976.

The new building will be named The John Clements Sports and Community Centre.

This agreement has allowed the Trust to sign a building contract with a local Hitchin based company, MP Building Ltd. The build cost of the new Centre will be just over £500,000 and site preparation is expected to start on the 15th September with project completion by April 2015. MP Building Ltd. are a growing Hitchin-based building company with a reputation for quality, on time and on cost construction for clients in the public and private sector.

Mr Kevin Boyle, MD of MP Building said “MP Building is honoured to be involved in a project so close to the heart of the community. We are looking forward to working in partnership with the Trust to construct a facility much needed by the community and befitting the tribute being made to John Clements “

The trustees are delighted that they are now able to proceed with the project. The new building will bring great benefits to the people of Codicote and the wider neighbourhood, by providing improved facilities to enhance sport, recreation and community activities. The aim is to achieve a significant increase in sports participation and the new Centre will allow the introduction of mini tennis, mini football/futsal, Kwik cricket, table tennis and mini rugby to more young people in support of the tremendous performance in existing sports.

Codicote has a 1^st X1 football team in the Spartan South Midland League (SSML), a reserve team in the SSML reserve league, 6 youth teams and hosts 2 teams from Stevenage Ladies. Its cricket team has been promoted 6 out of the last 8 years. It has 180 active tennis players playing in the Hertfordshire Leagues with a strong growth in young players. It has gone from Division 4 to the Premier League in local table tennis and last year started a mini rugby club.

The new Centre, with Sport England planning and funding support, will have better ancillary facilities and pre and post-match catering, will attract more participants, more spectators , parents and families . It will continue to have indoor bowls and bingo evenings and to be used for traditional community entertainment (dances, parties, musicals, celebrations). In addition the aim is to introduce new sports, recreational and community activities for all ages.

Both gratitude and sincere thanks must go to the range of local, regional and national funders who have extensively contributed to the cost of the Centre and also to the people of Codicote who have so passionately supported fund-raising events in the last few years, particularly the ongoing Buy-a-Brick campaign which started earlier this summer, so far raising over £14,000.

The trustees would like to continue to improve the specification and contents of the building so people can still make a donation or continue to support the Buy a Brick campaign so please go to the Trust’s web site www.jc-codicote.org for details or contact Jim Park on 01438 820325 or [email protected] , or Karry Omer at 56 St Giles Road, Codicote, SG4 8XW.

All cheques should be made payable to the John Clements Sports and Community Trust