New building at Clifton Lane sports ground to be a force for good

John Whaling outside the White Building. Picture by KERRIE BEDDOWS

A NEGLECTED sports ground building is to be demolished and rebuilt in a six-figure scheme to provide for community and sporting use seven days a week.

The Titans Community Foundation has been awarded a grant of £664,974 to redevelop the so-called White Building at Clifton Lane in the most expensive development the old site has ever seen.

The new structure, to be constructed on the current footprint, will be used by the TCF Monday to Friday to support and expand its work with thousands of young and disadvantaged people across the borough.

On weekends it will double up as the clubhouse of Rotherham Town Cricket Club, which shares Clifton Lane with Rotherham Rugby Club.

It will also house rugby and social events throughout the year.

“Securing the grant for this scheme is fantastic news,” said John Whaling, a director of the TCF.

"The Foundation works work thousands of people a year, from school children to disability and mental health groups. At the moment a lot of that work is done in the rugby club.

"This will be a modern, dedicated building and it will mean we will get more kids off the streets, onto the site and interested in sport which can only be good for their development and their health.”

Blueprint: artist's impression of the new facility at Clifton Lane.

The White Building was historically used by Rotherham Clifton Rugby Club but when they left it went into disrepair.

“The inside is a mess,” said Mr Whaling. “We did originally look at whether we could do something with the current structure and make it usable but having consulted with numerous builders the overwhelming thought was that it needed knocking down and starting again. It’s a single brick structure with a corrugated roof which, with the age of it, means it probably contains an amount of asbestos.”

The funding for the new venture is coming from the Youth Investment Fund, which has been looking to help areas of deprivation, social behaviour and childhood obesity. The Clifton Lane plan fitted the bill.

The new facility will include toilets, a bar area, a kitchen and office space.

"The new building itself will cost around £470,000,” explained Mr Whaling. “The award is in the region of £664,00 to cover staff costs and management costs during the build and, as part of the planning permission, to make the car park on that (Broom Lane) side of the ground hard-standing.”

The deal between the cricket club and the TCF has been ratified by Rotherham Athletic Company, landlords at Clifton Lane. The TCF has taken a 25-year lease.

The cricket pavilion next to the White Building closed last September, since when the cricketers have been using the facilities at the rugby club.

It is hoped to start work on the new building in March or April.

It needs to be completed by June 2025.