To all our members, supporters, players, volunteers and sponsors an apology as I have been very quiet over the summer but rest assured there has been lots going on and the purpose of this note is to update you on some key activities.

Great that the delayed season is now well underway and we have kicked off the new season with 3 wins out of 3 in our Senior ranks and some strong performances across all of our Junior categories.

Over the summer we completed multiple projects in line with our continued plans to improve our facilities for the benefit of all concerned and I have just outlined below some of the key activities we have done.

Completed the drainage project by implementing a drainage system in the top pitch and also done further works to the main pitch including more levelling , direct drilling new seed and general maintenance to improve the quality of the playing surface. Thanks go to Ultim8 Projects, Pearce Seeds and Chris Baily Engineering.

Completed our Pitch side fencing which not only tidies up the main pitch but also gives us some more slots for new pitch side board sponsors - Thanks go to Pete Burrows

Renewed the fencing outside the clubhouse - Thanks to Blamphayne Sawmills and Live West for the materials and Labour to do this.

Renewed the flooring in the lounge bar part of the clubhouse - Thanks to Live West for the materials and labour to tidy this area up.

Renewed the doors into and out of the cellar to cut down the cost of running the chillers and again keep the bar area looking tidy. Again thanks to Live west for their help in getting this done.

We have also done various other jobs like painting all the floors in the back of the clubhouse, repairing the storage sheds, cleaned all the pitch side fencing and boards, major tidy up around the back of the building in preparation for our planning application and many other smaller projects. Thank you to all our volunteers who helped with these.

That brings me nicely onto the big project that we kicked off over the summer relating to building an extension on the back of the existing clubhouse to be a new HQ specifically for our Junior section which goes from strength to strength.

The planning application was finally validated about 3 weeks ago and is now in the planning system for consideration indeed we have already had our first visit from the planning team in this regard.

How you folks can help with this is to put comments of support on the East Devon Planning portal, the application number is 26/1911/FUL. Your support really helps us get the planning approval through and if we are able to get this extension built it will massively improve the experience for all involved in Junior Rugby at the club.

Hopefully from this short update you can see that we are still working hard to improve all aspects of the club which in the long run benefits the community the town and all involved in local Rugby.

We would not be able to do any of these things without the continued support of all of you, we have the best supporters in the league an unbelievable group of volunteers and are blessed with a sponsor community that even when times are tough come through with their continued financial support.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone that contributes to making Honiton RFC the club that it is and lets hope for a good season on and off the pitch for all teams.

Regards

Chris