FOOTBALL Non-League Sport

Bishops Cleeve close to Crowdfunder target of £20,000 for renovation of Kayte’s Lane

Bishops Cleeve are close to hitting their target of £20,000 on Crowdfunder in order to build a new community sports hub that will include a new 3G pitch at their current ground Kayte Lane.

The Crowdfunder is currently at just over £18,000 but if they reach the £20,000 target originally set, they will receive an additional £6000 from Sport England who pledged the money if the club could reach that milestone.

Despite the conditions imposed on the people of Gloucestershire by the Covid 19 pandemic, the club’s chairman David Walker said this fundraising has brought the local community together for a common cause and that social media has played a key role in that.

He said: “If it wasn’t for Twitter and social media we would be really struggling. I think what we’re trying to do has acted as a catalyst for bringing the community together.”

There’s been loads of incredible examples of people sacrificing their time to raise money for the cause and it’s highlighted the generosity of the people of Gloucestershire.

“We’ve had about 14 different people who have set up fundraisers of their own,” said Walker.

“One of them is ‘Run to Wembley’ which is being done by two boys who will run the 145km distance to Wembley Stadium over 25 days.

“Our under 11’s Colts and Rovers are doing something similar. They’re running the distance of Land’s End to John O’Groats which is something like 874 miles.”

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The proposed plan for the community sports hub

The total cost for the project is £771,000 which is hoped to be covered through funding applications but the club have set themselves the challenge of raising a further £90,000 to bridge the gap.

Bishops Cleeve have been playing at Kayte Lane for 116 years but the pitch is becoming unplayable during the winter months due to drainage issues hence why the project has been set up.

The fundraiser has even gained the support of star names like former Manchester United player Lee Sharpe and the current England manager Gareth Southgate who donated a signed England shirt and copy of his book as one of the prizes for giving to the cause.

If you’d like to find out more information about the Crowdfunder or if you want to make a donation yourself then visit the web page here

Although the club are very close to achieving the initial target of £20,000, there will still be a lot of work left to do after that to raise the remaining £70,000 so they will need all the help they can get in the near future.

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