ROSS Sports Centre could open its doors next month as work to refurbish the flood-damaged facilities get underway.

The sports club off Wilton Road in Ross-on-Wye saw its activities disrupted after flood water breached the building in February 2020.

Ross Sports Centre was established in 2011 and is made up of the local cricket club, petanque club, park run and football club.

They took on the building in a dilapidated state and have since run it as a community interest company (CIC).

They receive rate relief from Herefordshire council, their landlords, and have invested some £150,000 in grant funding to improve the facilities since they took them on.

Centre director Paul Flitney said in November the coronavirus pandemic and the flooding had placed them in a dire situation.

But now the centre is on track to reopen its doors in early April.

He told a town council meeting this week that they received funding which will help pay for the works.

OTHER STORIES:

More than a third of Herefordshire coronavirus deaths have been in care homes

Green light for Herefordshire's El Dorado Festival

Secrecy over how Herefordshire councillors vote may be lifted, says chairman

“The total sum of the insurance money is £173,000,” he said.

“We’ve started work and we believe we are about four weeks away from completion which is excellent.

“It’s great timing for grass roots sports, football, cricket and other sports are getting started up and running again.

“We were thinking the funding was going to be more than £173,000 so we’ve had to go into our pots.

“The football club have contributed £49,000 through grants, the CIC have contributed circa £20,000. So we’ve got about £69,000 on top of the £173,000.

“We are optimistic that all the phase one works will be done by the first week of April.

“We are on course to having the kitchen open as a serving hatch which is critical for us in these Covid times so that we can do take outs.

“There will be more unisex changing rooms, bathrooms, the referees changing room has been moved, the clubhouse refurbished and we’ve got flood doors.

“Three of the flood doors have gone on and there’s one going on this week.

“So we believe we are as flood proof as we can be going forward in case it occurs again.

“We will have a larger bar area, disabled toilet and for phase two we are working hard to see how we can access grant funding.

“So first week of April give or take we should be there, open. A year and a month after this all started but ready to go again.”