A SPORTS club hit by terrible flooding is celebrating a £75,000 Sport England Lottery grant, which will help rebuild the clubhouse and facilities.

Ross Rowing Club flooded in October 2019, putting the clubhouse out of commission for months, only for even worse to follow in February 2020, when record levels left it three-foot deep in water with four boats crushed on the racks.

Add in lockdown leading to the cancellation of its nationally recognised August Bank Holiday regatta weekend, the closure of the club bar, no chance to hire out facilities for weddings and parties, plus a dip in membership revenue, and it’s been a tough last 18 months.

But the Sport England grant has boosted members as work gets fully underway on a £329,000 rebuild ahead of people getting back on the water at the end of the month.

Club secretary Jan Rosser, who handled the SE application, said that while the 151-year-old club’s insurance covered some of the work needed, the grant will help ensure that other much-needed projects can also be undertaken, such as making good the club’s concrete boating steps and providing better parking.

She said: “February’s floods were the worst ever, the water level was completely unprecedented. The club was completely underwater in the clubhouse and boathouse.

“And prior to that, contaminated water in the October floods meant we couldn’t use the clubhouse and had to put up temporary toilets and showers outside before even worse hit four months later.

“Then Covid arrived, and we couldn’t row or use the club anyway or get rebuilding work done.

“For some funding, we opened an outdoor bar and BBQ for members and campers at weekends when lockdown was lifted and held a charity shop, but it’s been a struggle.”

But she added: “In a way, despite being badly hit, the flooding was a blessing in disguise, as it let us really look at sorting out the flooding issues and modernising the club and boathouse, which were built in the 1970s and 80s.

“And with this grant, it now means we can really look forward to rebuilding the club, in terms of both facilities and getting people rowing again.”

Jan added that Sport England said that any application the club made had to show it was sustainable, and it took hours and hours over the last year preparing the flood rebuilding plan and submission.

“We had no idea what, if anything, we would get. They give grants from £10,000 up, so when I found out last week it was £75,000, I was so pleased.

“We can sort everything out and look forward to an exciting future, with people hopefully back rowing on the river again at the end of March.”

Club facilities director Torsten Pope said: “We thought we might perhaps get £15,000 to repair the corridor roof, so £75,000 is a fantastic result that will help us see a totally refurbished clubhouse, new boating steps and mains drainage.

“The floods and then Covid gave us a chance to rethink the facilities, which were a bit like a rabbit warren in places.

“All in all, we’re smartening everything up. We’re making a much better use of space, making it more user friendly.

“It will also be lighter and airier as well, with roof lights and glass panels.

“We’re putting in a proper professional kitchen to use for events and functions, which can also be hired out, and stripping out the old changing rooms and putting in modern cubicles, including with disabled access.

“In the old training area, we’re rationalising the heavy weights equipment, and we’ll be able to have crew ergoing on rowing machines, one behind the other.

“And we’re also putting in blockwork walls which can simply be hosed off in the event of flooding, along with hard floors, making things more flood resilient.

“We flooded again this January, delaying work, but I’m hopeful everything can now be completed by the end of May, and certainly in time for this year’s August Bank holiday regatta.”