Kingsbridge community and club to benefit from major clubhouse extension

Rugby and sport in the Kingsbridge area is "to become more inclusive" and reach even more people, thanks to a major project to build new changing rooms. 

To help meet its priority of supporting South Hams’ communities, South Hams District Council has provided £75,000 of S106 funding to Kingsbridge Rugby Club to go towards an extension of the clubhouse that has created new changing rooms and increased the function room space. 

The new changing room at KRFC 

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has also provided the club with £200,000 towards the project through a grant and loan. The RFU funding came from Impact ’25, the legacy programme for the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, which aims to "accelerate the accessibility of rugby for women and girls" by investing £12.13 million of Government funding into the sport across England and the home unions.

The new changing rooms are RFU-compliant, and the new separation between changing rooms means that for the first time, the club can run men’s, women’s and youth games all at once, making the club more inclusive than ever before.  

As well as the support from the council and the RFU, the rugby club did its own fundraising to complete the project. 

Ian Brooking, chairman of Kingsbridge Rugby Club, said: “This is a landmark project for Kingsbridge RFC. The new changing rooms and increased social space will help facilitate the continued growth of the club. 

“We would like to thank South Hams District Council and the RFU for their generous support in enabling this project.”

Cllr Vic Abbott, South Hams Executive Member for Community Services, Operations and Leisure, said: “Supporting our communities across the entire South Hams is an important priority for the council. I’m happy that we’re able to support Kingsbridge Rugby Club in a way that will benefit so many people. 

“Sport is so important for wellbeing, mentally as well as physically and socially. The increased inclusivity that the new changing rooms provide will allow games for all demographics to run at the same time and helping transform the club and bring more people together than ever before.”

Alex Teasdale, RFU Women’s Game Director said: “The Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 provided women’s rugby with the platform to grow across all areas of the game. Impact ’25 drove growth thanks to a number of initiatives including the improvement of facilities at community rugby clubs such as Kingsbridge RFC.

"The facility grants are designed to break down barriers to participation and make the sport more accessible for women and girls across the country.

“Impact ’25 was an important part of our ongoing commitment to growing the women's and girls’ game. We are totally dedicated to creating more opportunities to play rugby and we believe that the tournament and its Impact Programme will really take the game in this country to the next level.”

The council also enjoys a strong and effective relationship with the RFU. The organisations have worked in collaboration proactively to link Section 106 monies to rugby clubs’ facility projects identified in the council’s Playing Pitch Strategy. This includes projects at Kingsbridge, Plymstock Albion Oaks and Ivybridge. 

The council funding has come from Section 106 money provided by the Applegate housing development off Belle Hill at Kingsbridge.