Public Places
Civil service with a smile!
Martin Saunders is the sole groundsman at Cheltenham Civil Service Sports Club where he has been battling with the inclement weather. In summer, he says, the pitches are amongst the best in the region!
C
heltenham Civil Service Sports Club is one of just a handful of multi-sports clubs remaining in Gloucestershire. The Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC) supports clubs and facilities for civil servants (active and retired) and their families throughout the UK. Cheltenham Area Civil Service Sports Association (CACSSA), located in the South-West Region of the CSSC, is a thriving example of what can be achieved when management and members work together to provide the sporting facilities which are so important to individuals’ general well-being, whilst more general events within the clubhouse have become increasingly popular. A new clubhouse replaced the old “shack” in 1994, and was officially opened by the Duchess of Gloucester on 26 April 1995. It has undergone some changes to the original design, and more
are in the planning stage, as the association adapts to the varying needs of its members.
The facilities of the clubhouse are
hired out during the daytime for conferences, seminars, training sessions and other corporate events. This has developed into a major source of income, which is invested into the club, the association being a not for profit organisation.
Evening and weekend use (limited to
events organised by members or affiliated clubs) has also developed, with a variety of functions being held throughout the year from birthday parties, wedding receptions and christenings to quiz nights and skittles. The ground provides two senior rugby pitches, two senior football pitches, one junior football pitch, an artificial training pitch, four tarmacadem tennis courts and a nine strip square for cricket. The
club employs a full time groundsman in Martin Saunders who has been at the club for nine years. The cricket outfield forms part of all four of the senior winter pitches and, in the summer, the ground is extensively used by the archery section of the club so, in essence, the site is in constant use with little opportunity for major renovations. Like a lot of sports grounds, the weather has been its biggest enemy recently. Martin states that he recorded over 1100 mm of rain last year, and heavy rain continued into 2013, followed by snow and freezing temperatures. The constant wet weather resulted in a number of the winter sports fixtures being cancelled due to waterlogged conditions.
The site was formally farming land and originally did drain very well via an old agricultural drainage system. However, in
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