26
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Another aspect of the project is its sustainability credentials.
A £10,000 Wealden District Council grant paid for a water har- vester that collects rain from the roof. It then supplies water to the toilets. Locally sourced and recycled materials were used wherever
possible on the build. For example, kitchen units and bar fittings were sourced from a pub demolition. High levels of insulation and the building mass have reduced the demand for large and expensive heating and cooling installations. The heating runs off
two low-capacity domestic hot water boilers that were chosen because of their cheap cost and twinned so that only one is fired up when demand is for less than the full available capacity. The new foul drainage plant incorporates a small treatment
unit, which includes a holding tank, so that the system can bal- ance heavy and light demand periods. The air-handling plant has a very low energy demand but incorporates heat recovery prior to extraction. And the club’s green ambitions don’t end there. Funding for
a wind turbine and solar panels has also been applied for. The turbine and the photovoltaic cells should provide energy of about 20kW for use by the club with spare production being transferred into the National Grid. Work began on the first working day of 2011 and the building
was handed over as ready for use at the club’s annual general meeting on September 9. The next day, the first game played in front of the new club-
house resulted in Crowborough’s first team beating Ashford RFC 20-7. It was a special day for many at the club, but particularly so for
Eddie Bridges. He has been involved with Crowborough RFC since 1979, fulfilling roles as junior coach, member secretary, chairman of the junior club, club chairman and president, before returning as club secretary to help steer the club through the redevelopment of its clubhouse. “There’s been a lot of heart-searching about how much we’ve
spent and we’ve had to take on some debt. But I don’t know what we’d have done if we hadn’t started this,” says Bridges. “The existing clubhouse was virtually falling down around
Clockwise from top left: Crowborough RFC 1st XV Team; Eddie Bridges, club secretary (left); Clubhouse entrance
our ears. We own the land, but without a clubhouse we would struggle to play rugby. These days players expect a much higher level of facilities and the old clubhouse was a bit of a joke really. “People we haven’t seen for a long time are now coming back to the club and saying what a wonderful place it is to be. For
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