Community club starts fundraising to improve access for all

Churchdown Club in Gloucester is raising money to install ramps, a lift and offer wheelchair sporting activities

A community club has started fundraising to help it become "more accessible to all" and offer wheelchair-friendly sports at its venue.

Churchdown Club in Gloucester hosts many activities but has many of steps, which it said made it hard for people to access.

The venue said it wanted everyone to feel included.

"We'd like to open up to everyone, but [at the moment] unfortunately we can't," club chair Gina Jones said.

'Elderly members struggling'

"Currently we offer tennis, bowls and skittles but all three play areas have steps leading to them," she added.

The venue was built in 1921 and the club is fundraising to install ramps and lifts. It has set a target of £125,000.

Parents with pushchairs and people with mobility issues have had problems getting into the club to use the facilities, the club said.

"We have seen the elderly members struggling and it's heart-breaking, it really is," said committee member Patrick McCaffrey.

"For the lift alone I think we're looking at £25k, and for the ramp an awful lot more," said Ms Jones.

'Open up our offering'

Mr McCaffrey said they wanted to offer wheelchair-friendly sports.

"Well, we've currently got a bowls green and two tennis courts, and we're really keen to open up wheelchair bowls and wheelchair tennis sections dedicated to that.

"So we want to increase our usage and open up our offering to the community, and have a wider reach," he said.

"We would need to provide specific wheelchairs for wheelchair bowls and wheelchair tennis," Mr McCaffrey continued.

"There's very little offering [these sports] in the area so we'd be keen to open up to the wider area and offer that."