By Grace Cooper
Rugby club Farnley Falcons’ application for funding was approved yesterday by councillors on the Outer West Community Committee.
The Falcons requested £9,500 in funding to help them complete works on their car park, which has been set back by continued vandalism at their new clubhouse, which is currently being built.
Farnley Falcons’ club secretary Jonny Adams attended the meeting at Farnley Hall and said the biggest item to sort was the car park.
He said that work on the clubhouse, which would become a hub for the community, was nearly finished but trying to fund the completion of work on the site was difficult.
“We’re running on fumes,” he added.
The clubhouse has suffered from six to seven months of vandalism, costing the club £15,000. Thieves had also targeted a newly installed kitchen at the clubhouse.
This had left the Falcons struggling to get insurance and facing difficulties in completing the work. Much of the funding for the new clubhouse has come from the club’s own fundraising efforts.
Mr Adams added: “Once this project is completed, we will be quite self-sustaining but to reach this point we need support.
“We have had no consistent income for two years and are now struggling to fund the final stages of the clubhouse project.”
Councillor Mark Sewards (Lab, Farnley & Wortley) noted that the club had previously taken a reduced amount of funding from the committee and that approving the current application would take them up to the original amount. Cllr Sewards calling the new clubhouse an “amazing asset for Farnley”.
Cllr David Blackburn (Green, Farnley & Wortley) said this was the club’s third bid for funding to the committee but said there were exceptional circumstances due to the vandalism and was supportive of the club’s ambitions. “I do hope we can get the clubhouse and car park finished and get people off the road and into the car park,” he added.
And Cllr Adrian McCluskey (Lab, Farnley & Wortley) added his concerns about existing on-road parking, which sometimes made the road dangerous and had recently blocked the number 15 bus service from going up it.
The Falcons are a community rugby league club, which offers the game to boys and girls aged three to 15 as well as an open age men’s team for 16+ and men’s and women’s masters teams for those aged over 35. They have more than 200 players.
The outer west community committee is made up of nine councillors from the Calverley & Farsley, Farnley & Wortley and Pudsey wards. There are five Conservative councillors, three Labour and one Green.
