TIVERTON Rugby Club will be able to keep their pitch in tip-top condition next season thanks to a £5,000 sponsorship deal with local housebuilder Bellway.

The money will cover the cost of intensive pitch remediation work over the summer to reinvigorate the playing surface so that it stays in good condition during the winter months, ensuring fewer games have to be cancelled due to poor weather.

The work will involve draining, re-seeding and fertilising the two playing fields at the club’s Coronation Field home ground, which neighbours Bellway’s Empress Gardens development.

The club has three adult teams and 11 junior age group sides, hosting around 150 matches at its home ground each season.

Charles Burt, Chairman of Tiverton RFC, said: “This is a remedial process that we have carried out a few times over the past few years and it has made a real difference to the condition of the pitch. It makes the grass thicker and stronger which prevents the pitch cutting up and becoming muddy during the winter.

“We only did this work two years ago but because of the wet winter we have just had, we had already arranged for it to be done again this summer. When Bellway approached us to offer this sponsorship it came as an enormous benefit as it meant we could use it to pay for the work and not worry about having to find another way of raising the money.

“We are very much a community club and our facilities are used by a wide range of groups from across the town. Nearly all our sponsorship comes from local businesses so it is wonderful to have this support from Bellway.”

Bellway is building 41 homes at Empress Gardens, on land off Lea Road. The development will feature a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments and two, three and four-bedroom houses. As part of the planning agreement for the development, Bellway is providing funding of more than £130,000 in primary education, £49,000 for public open space and £23,000 for affordable housing.

Rachel Way, Senior Sales Manager for Bellway South West, said: “Supporting local communities lies at the heart of Bellway’s commitment to sustainable practices and our sponsorship of Tiverton RFC is a prime example of this. While we are keen to engage with groups and organisations throughout the town, our relationship with the rugby club is especially important given that they are a close neighbour of ours.

“Team sports like rugby play such an important role in supporting both physical and emotional wellbeing so if our support can help the club to minimise the number of games that are lost to the weather that can only be a good thing.”

Bellway is also building 257 homes at its Libbets Grange development in Crediton. For more information about Bellway developments in Devon, visit: bellway.co.uk/new-homes/south-west.