Kendal Rugby Union football club

How the club started

Rugby has been played in Kendal since the 1870s, but the present club was formed in August 1905 and moved to its present site, Mint Bridge, in the 1925/6 season. The site has 8 acres.

The club is a limited Company with the ground held in Trust, to ensure the continuance of rugby within the town. The clubhouse was built in the 1960s with an addition in the 1980s. The facilities are typical of a community club with a single storey clubhouse with a flat roof and a two storey changing room containing 4 changing rooms, gym and showers. There is a main bar that can accommodate 150-200 people and a smaller bar for up to 75. The facilities are aging and the changing rooms, in particular, are in need of refurbishment. The costs of maintenance of the building and changing rooms are daunting and the club are aware that its facilities are not in keeping with the standards expected of a club playing National League rugby.

Community

The club is deeply embedded in the community and has strong local support, as there are around 200 paying members. The rugby club is semi-professional; the majority of players are from the local area with some representation from overseas. The club survives on a huge amount of goodwill and volunteer effort with recent projects including the refurbishment and decoration of the gym and replacement windows and doors in the main bar. They have also improved disabled access and have recently installed a disabled toilet with funding assisted by the RFU and Neighbourhood Forum.

The club is run by a Board of Directors whose main function is to ensure the financial security of the club and provide a firm foundation for success on the field. The club aims to be a successful local rugby club at National League level, providing sporting opportunities for the local community and a focus for rugby enthusiasts in Cumbria.

They have 3 senior teams and have a successful youth development programme with U14 and U17 sides as well as a women’s rugby squad. Their first team, achieved promotion from North 1 last season, winning every game, and now they play in the competitive National League 3 North. They have good links with local schools and some of their players are involved in youth development. The club has ambitions to remain the premier side in Cumbria and be a focus for youth development in rugby providing high quality coaching and training facilities.

The reality is that without investment and substantial capital expenditure the clubhouse, changing rooms and stand will gradually deteriorate over the next 5-10 years, so this is where the new ground comes into place if the green light goes ahead. Future

An opportunity to do so has presented itself in the form of an offer from a developer to purchase there current ground, with a view to obtaining planning permission for a retail development. The developer has undertaken to find and build a ‘state of the art’ clubhouse, pitches and car park on a new site within the town boundaries. A suitable site has been found and is subject to a contract to purchase. The Board of the club and the Trustees have been in detailed discussions about the move to another site and are convinced that this offers them the best solution to secure the club’s future and the continuance of successful community rugby within the town. The principle of the sale of the ground and a move to a new site has been approved by the club members at a recent EGM.