Project Legacy (Jan 2025)

January 2025

Dear Members,

Further to our update towards the end of last year, I wanted to provide you with a progress report regarding our efforts to secure a new home for Amesbury Rugby Club.

Towards the end of last year the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) confirmed the Boscombe Sports Ground will be handed over on a first-refusal basis to Amesbury Town Council (ATC) for community use. ATC has subsequently confirmed it will take on the site.

Due to our ongoing lobbying, Amesbury Rugby Club is recognised as one of the stakeholders with a significant need for improved playing space and facilities in which to operate. As such, over the last few months, we have been invited to attend a couple of meetings to explore our needs. 

It is important to emphasise that this does not guarantee the site will become our new home. There are other stakeholders, such as Amesbury Junior Football Club and potentially others, who also have needs that ATC must consider.

ATC is forming a subcommittee to handle this project and has promised to enter into more detailed discussions with us over the next month. 

To prepare for this, the Club Executive Committee has begun assembling a project team to develop the necessary business plans and ensure we are ready to seize this opportunity if it becomes available. The project is being named “Project Legacy”. 

Our objective is to secure a long-term lease for the site from ATC, which would enable us to establish a sustainable base for the club’s future growth and operations.

If any members have relevant experience from similar projects or have expertise that could assist in forming the club's business plan, we encourage you to get in touch.

Your insights and support could be invaluable as we navigate this process.

At this stage, it is feasible that the site may result in the formation of a joint sports management body to manage shared utilisation of the facilities. However, no conclusions have been reached, and we are working closely with all relevant parties to put forward the strongest case for our club as a primary lessee.

Please be aware there may be other parties, outside of our club, who could seek to challenge our position for taking on a lease of the site and may attempt to undermine our ambitions. For this reason, we are not communicating our position publicly at this time. I kindly ask that you treat this update with the same level of discretion. Please be selective in who you might share this information with, or ideally, keep it to yourselves for now until the situation becomes clearer.

The prospect of a new, independent home would be a defining moment for Amesbury Rugby Club, enabling us to expand our rugby offering, grow our membership, and deliver greater benefits to our players, members, and the wider community. That said, there are many moving parts and details still to be negotiated, so we ask for your patience as we work collaboratively to secure the long-term health and success of our club.

We understand you may have questions, so we encourage you to speak directly with myself or the Chairman, Daz Rogers rather than speculating. Transparency with our members remains our priority, and we will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

Thank you for your continued support and belief in our vision.

If you have any questions please feel free to get in contact. 

Duncan Souster

Club President

Whatsapp 07976 881196 

or email amesburyrugby@gmail.com