OVER the past four years, following the severe floods of 2020, Ross-on-Wye’s Sports Centre has been brought back to life with new flood proof measures being installed.

The building, which was constructed in the 1960s on an elevated platform, now has specialist flood doors on all exits preventing flood water from entering the sports centre.

The centre’s management team, a community interest company, also took advantage of the devastation caused by the floods to completely refurbish and reconfigure the internal layout of the building.

This created a number of new changing rooms, a referee’s room and disabled toilets while the redesigning the social areas saw the the bar / café area being modified.

Jim Loftus, vice chairman of the sports centre, who runs the centre’s football section explained that the pitches have been improved both in quality and quantity with the addition of three totally new areas from what had been overgrown waste land, bringing the total to 12 pitches.

Mr Loftus said: “After the floods we had to strip everything from the building internally, leaving us with the bare shell.

“We decided to increase the number of changing rooms to varying different sizes, and this means the Ross juniors get their own room.

“Over the last few months, the exterior has been painted, new guttering and facias have been installed free of charge by Express Windows, saving us thousands of pounds.

“We’ve also installed the new patio area, replacing the broken paving slabs, and a new security CCTV system.

“With all these improvements, I believe we now have one of the best sporting facilities in the county.  

“The club has been hugely successful in building up its youth teams of both boys and girls from 2004, when we had just four teams. We now have over 30 teams and this includes two successful women’s football teams.”

The Ross Pétanque Club, using the former tennis court, is also proving to be very popular while a pigeon racing club will be making use of an area little used by the centre.

There is also a very well-tended cricket pitch, but its lease only lasts for another two, hampering the sports centre’s ability to apply for grant funding.

Mr Loftus explained that the centre has a very good groundsman, and his work is supplemented by the Probation Service utilising people on community service to strim the areas the machinery can’t reach.

“While we do not have a major men’s football team playing in the main pyramid, we are however one of the biggest clubs in the county, with the women’s team progressing up the leagues with younger girls following through after the success of the Euros.

“As a club, we are almost at polarity of boys and girls playing football. We try to keep the grounds looking respectable. It is leased from Herefordshire Council and have the responsibility for its maintenance.”

The mayor of Ross, Cllr Bev Pope said: “I would like to congratulate everyone involved in the sports centre rescue effort in saving a really damaged building and modernising it, flood proofing it, so that future generations of Ross children can be fit and happy, playing their way into a great future.”

The sports centre has two women stalwarts running it on a daily basis. Rachel Billington and Sue Wall are volunteers who run the café and keep the sports centre itself ticking over.

Mr Loftus, who is also involved in a football outreach programme, said that the only downside of having so many pitches is that there is a shortage of referees locally to officiate at all levels, but is hopeful this will soon be resolved.