CLUBHOUSE PROJECT
Community Benefits
Significant recreational and social hub in Ecclesfield - The redevelopment plans aspire to secure the site as a community asset for decades to come. The ambition is to improve upon has been developed over the years, to better serve the local community and create opportunities for belonging and togetherness.
Enhanced community health and wellbeing - Participation in sport and leisure, promotes physical activity and mental wellbeing. The redeveloped pavilion will better enable all ages and abilities to participate in cricket, football, netball and more by providing truly inclusive facilities. Participation in sport is not restricted to the physical act of playing sport, it can include volunteering or social memberships which help to reduced social isolation, improve greater community integration and enhanced the local identity of the club.
Investment in young people - Sheffield Caribbean Sports Club already serves hundreds of young people. An improved facility will allow all sports clubs to extend their work through coaching and training young people in the community. This fosters teamwork, discipline, and leadership skills in young people. It will also provide elite pathways in sport, that might otherwise be unavailable.
Lowering bills and improving comfort - The new pavilion is designed with sustainability at its core. Low energy buildings require less energy to heat resulting in lower bills for SCSC and low harmful emissions. High levels of insulation will ensure that the building is comfortable year-round, allowing the club to offer more indoor activities. Money saved on bills can be reinvested into the club’s operations and keeping membership fees affordable.
“Thanks to tireless work from our members, our clubhouse has grown and adapted with us. It’s time for a fresh start, so we can build a more accessible, more sustainable, more inclusive future.”– SCSC website homepage
Project Background
Since 1965 Sheffield Caribbean Sports Club has offered cricket, football, hockey and netball to the community. The club was born out of the difficulties people from black and other minority backgrounds had in getting involved in sport. In the late 60’s especially, teams were white dominated and often unwelcoming to people of colour. The club started off as a youth club side and continues to this day, working out of their original pavilion that was officially opened in 1986 by Sir Clive Lloyd. There are still many original club members, (now in their 80s), actively engaged in the club management. Ex-England and Derbyshire fast bowler, Devon Malcolm is a product of SCSC. Malcolm played in 40 Test matches and 10 One Day Internationals for the England cricket team.
Today, Sheffield Caribbean Sports Club (SCSC) is the only one of two Caribbean Sports Clubs to own its sports ground in the UK. SCSC serves a wide community from across Sheffield and beyond.An extensive range of sports teams operate out of the ground. No less than 8 cricket teams are registered to play out of SCSC in 2024, from U11 up to seniors, with an aspiration to run a female only team soon. There’s also numerous football teams, a social hockey team and social netball team.
Beyond team sports, club runs a significant range of community and sports programmes, including: The Holiday Activity for Food (HAF) summer programme, the African Caribbean Engagement (ACE) cricket programme; King Charles II’s Coronation and four Windrush 75th Anniversary celebratory events; an annual fun day; the Devon Malcolm Cricket Festival; schools’ cricket days; all-stars and veterans’ cricket. As recognition of this work, SCSC was gifted a special tree by the late Queen Elizabeth II for its contribution to the community.
SCSC volunteer and chairperson, Des Smith, won the ‘Unsung Hero’award at the 2023 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards. This high-profile award has been a catalyst in attracting significant financial support from the ECB for the development of a planning application for a new pavilion wider high-level masterplan.
This consultation builds on the unprecedented levels of support from key stakeholders for a new pavilion and seeks views from local people prior to submitting a planning application later this year
