New clubhouse approved for flood-hit Bridgnorth Rugby Club

Proposals for the new facility at Bridgnorth Rugby Club’s Edgar Davies Ground, next to the River Severn, were passed by Shropshire Council’s Southern Planning Committee at a meeting on Tuesday.

The clubhouse will be built with a void ground floor to protect against future episodes of extreme weather.

The building will include dining, changing, storage and office areas, as well as a terrace overlooking the club’s main pitch for outdoor dining and spectating.

It will replace what planning officers described as a “ramshackle” collection of structures which are “clearly not fit for purpose”, including the existing pavilion, marquee, Nissen hut and two storage containers.

The plans were lodged in September, following the refusal of earlier proposals over concerns about flooding and the impact on the West Midlands Green Belt, in which the site sits.

Councillor Richard Marshall proposed approval of the application.

He said: “I have known Bridgnorth Rugby Club for many years and it’s a massively important local community facility.

“They have children from, I think, under five right the way up to adults learning the craft of rugby and being active within sport.

“It’s suffered tremendously with flooding, it’s slap bang in the middle of the River Severn flood plain.

“Often all along that section you will see the rugby pitch is completely flooded out and you could go swimming there, let alone play rugby.

“To be able to have a facility that’s built higher to save them having to go through the demoralising and demotivating time of having to clean out all the flood water continuously, it’s nothing but fantastic.”

Members unanimously voted to grant permission for the new clubhouse.

In a report to the committee, planning officer Mike Davies set out how the scheme would greatly improve facilities at the club, with players currently forced to use changing rooms off-site at The Bull on Bridge Street.

He said: “This is not ideal and involves players having to walk down the access drive from the changing rooms to get to the ground.”

Mr Davies also set out the financial impact of the recent repeated flooding.

The report said: “The current clubhouse on site is a tired and substandard facility that struggles to meet the needs of the club and its community, with limited space for spectators and players.

“The historic flooding on the site has contributed to regular destruction and loss of equipment and stock from the kitchen and functional areas of the clubhouse.

“Recent floods in 2020 have caused damage in excess of £50k in repair costs of which the club has been forced to use £10k of grant from Sport England and a £10k grant from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) to help repair the damage.

“On numerous occasions the changing facilities at the Bridgnorth Rowing Club, some 100m from the site, have had to be used, with players having to walk to the pitch from the boathouse. The need for a new and improved clubhouse and changing facility is now desperate.”

The proposals were supported by Bridgnorth Town Council and attracted 175 letters of support from members of the public, with just three objections.