In September this year, our lease on a large and dusty warehouse in Bottoms Mill began. It’s located in an industrial estate on the outskirts of Hinchcliffe Mill, Holmfirth (next door to the well-known Turner Brothers garage). Exciting plans are underway to transform it into a basketball-centred sports hall, gym and cafe for the community.

Current State

Design of Future State

Progress so far

Our landlord is currently having work done on the warehouse’s leaky roof, so we’ve been unable to get stuck into renovations. However, volunteers have been working hard behind the scenes to raise funds for our ambitious project. Over the past 2 months, we have:

• Applied for and been awarded a One Community: Bright Green Community Trust grant for the amount of £2520. This will cover the estimated cost of materials for energy efficient sports hall lighting and rewire
• Applied for and been awarded a Holme Valley Parish grant for the amount of £5000. This will go towards installing toilet facilities
• Raised £396 at Holme Valley Food festival with our Just Hoop stand, including basketball games, a raffle and prizes. (We also gained a steady stream of new players for Holme Valley Juniors off the back of this)
• Raised £694 with a Holme Valley 3×3 basketball tournament, with 32 adults and 32 juniors in attendance
• Been offered a very generous £1000 donation from a family member of one of our juniors at the tournament
• Applied for a £5000 Growing Great Places grant from Kirklees council. If approved, this one comes with a caveat; we must raise the equal sum via Spacehive (crowdfunding). We are awaiting the response
• Applied for a £20,000 National Lottery grant.We are awaiting the response

What’s Next?

Given that this is such a large project, we have decided to split it into phases. Phase 1 will enable us to get the doors open. This will involve beginning work on the middle room of the warehouse, in which we will build the park court, cafe with seating area and the gym / fitness area.