Floodlights update
Update on the battle to protect the floodlight electrics from the elements.
The very wet weather over the last few weeks is not only causing problems to the pitch, but continues to cause concerns around the former hospitality building that houses the floodlight controls. Plans to move the electrics were revealed last month after significant damage was caused to the roof of the hut during heavy rains, leading to an urgent need to protect the lights and a fundraising campaign was launched to cover the costs of the work.
Chris Daynes, the Clubs Chief Operating Officer provides the following update- "Club volunteers have carried out some temporary repairs to the roof which has enabled us to evaluate all options for protecting the lights but we recognise this is a very temporary fix. As investigations have continued, it has become clear that to re-house the lights is proving to be a much bigger challenge than we originally anticipated. Re-housing the electrics in a purpose built cabinet and re-locating the switches seemed like the logical solution, but it opened up a can of worms regarding other works that would be required to accompany the job. Not only would the work have put the lights out of action until the work was completed, something we can't afford to happen given that all our senior sides require floodlighting to stage matches, it would also lead to significant additional groundworks including excavations to expose the existing cables, the loss of the junior equipment shed, trenches in the new tarmac hardstanding areas, re-locating the water supply and pa system that are both housed in the hut and of course it still leaves the problem of the damaged building remaining in place. Knocking it down would require even more work to relay tarmac on the huts footprint, and infilling another section of perimeter barrier in the gap that would be exposed. As you can see, not only would this cause a large amount of disruption, but all the additional works would add significantly to the cost of merely moving the electrics, which in itself was several thousand pounds".
"Therefore, the committee have decided instead to re-furbish the former hospitality hut in the short to medium term. By installing a new roof, exterior cladding and refurbishing the interior, it is hoped that we can achieve several more years use out of the building until such a time that longer term plans for that area of the ground come to fruition. By undertaking the work to re-furbish the building housing the lights, it means we won't have to touch the electrics at all, or do any additional groundworks, keeping the lights operational for matches and reducing the cost of the work by more than half".
The Club are still required to find around £4-5,000 for the refurbishment and the fund currently stands at £1,209 following donations and collections at recent home games.
Donations to the fund can be made online on each page of this website, or in the collection buckets around the clubhouse.
Alternatively, you can support the fund-raising efforts by joining us for one of several social events that are being staged to raise the remainder-
RACE NIGHT- Saturday 4th January after the Soham match.
QUIZ NIGHT- Friday 17th January FULLY BOOKED
EVENT TBC- Saturday 15th February (Event to be revealed next week)
CASINO NIGHT- Saturday 14th March