History of Helsby Sports Club

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• 1895: Formed as Helsby Athletic Club through the merger of Helsby Cricket Club and Helsby Rugby Football Club.

• 1934: Taken over by BICC General Cables Limited as a staff sports club for the benefit of employees.

• 1982: Hosted the start of the first Four Villages Half Marathon (now been running every year for over 40 years)

• 1991: Transitioned to independent management by a volunteer committee, serving over 500 members.

• 2000-2002: The BICC factory closed, changing the landscape of the area.

• 2003: Helsby Community Sports Club now provides facilities and coaching for sports including rugby, football, bowls, tennis, fishing darts and snooker.

• With all the sporting sections of the Club growing and the clubhouse in need of various costly repairs, the committee begin to form loose plans for a new facility.

• 2005: Vale Royal Borough Council purchased the former sports and social club from Honeywell after the building was considered beyond economic repair.

• 2006–2007: Early discussions began about replacing the ageing facilities and exploring options for additional land and future development.

• 2007: A club executive committee was formed, with representatives from the sporting sections, the Borough Council and the Parish Council.

• 2007–2008: The club worked with sports development specialists, architects and potential partners to explore designs, costs and possible locations for a new facility.

• 2008: Community fundraising began, including the successful Buy a Brick appeal, helping the club raise the funds needed to move the project forward.

• December 2008: Public presentations were held around the village to share the plans and gather community feedback.

• 2008: Having already received some funding from Helsby Parish Council, the Rural Delivery Programme, Brook House and Steve O'Connor, and secured Michael Owen as a patron of the club, the committee make a presentation to the then Shadow Secretary of State for Sport, Culture and Media, Jeremy Hunt, highlighting the need for new facilities.

• 2009: An initial planning application for the new site is submitted.

• December 2009: Planning permission was granted for a new sports facility.

• 2010–2014: The club continued to seek funding and worked with partners to develop a deliverable plan for the new site.

• 2015: Planning permission was granted for an amended scheme, including the relocation of the club to its current site.

• 2015: A revised planning application for the new facility is approved unanimously by Cheshire West and Chester Council.

• 2016–2018: Further legal, funding and planning work took place to allow the project to progress.

• 2017: Club membership reaches 850, and is growing all the time.Helsby's MP, Mike Amesbury, takes a visit to the existing clubhouse and gives his backing for the new development.

• 2018: Helsby Community Sports Club's move is confirmed, as the new clubhouse development gets the go ahead. A phased build plan was approved, allowing the project to move forward in stages.

• February 2020: Work finally begins on the new clubhouse.

• March 2020: The old clubhouse closes its doors at the beginning of the first national coronavirus lockdown.

• April 2020: Even at the height of lockdown, the new build begins to gather momentum. With the foundations laid, the clubhouse skeleton starts to take shape, gaining a roof, floors and walls!

• 2020-2021: The original site was cleared, and a new community sports complex was developed and opened.

• March 29 2021: As lockdown eases, the new clubhouse is finally allowed to open its outdoor facilities!

• 2021 onwards: The new facility was completed and brought into use, with further improvements including solar panels, updated floodlights and ongoing plans for future phases.

• The project represents many years of community effort, fundraising, partnership working and determination to provide modern sports and community facilities for Helsby.