UK Edition
It is hard to understate the imprint that Rosslyn Park has left on English rugby. Every year it hosts the world’s largest schools sevens tournament, which has acted as launching pad for countless international players. During the season, it welcomes up to 1,200 children each week through its community programme.
Now, the club of Alexander Obolensky, Andy Ripley and Danny Cipriani is under serious threat from a classic case of British Nimbyism.
Rosslyn Park’s problems began when one of their floodlights was blown over in a storm in 2014. It was not the only thing that was falling apart at the Priory Lane ground, which had barely been refurbished since the club moved there in 1957, with the facilities straining to cope under weight of demand.
“We realised in order to continue and expand our offering for youth rugby, we needed an all-weather pitch,” Adam Tyrer, the chairman, said. “We wanted to transform the club into even more of a thriving, social community sports hub. That then became the key to how we saw the club surviving and growing in the future.”
The all-weather pitch carried a £1 million price tag and, as a non-profit community club, playing in the third tier of English rugby, income streams are extremely limited. A sizeable loan was needed.
Being based beside the South Circular did offer an enticing opportunity to reach a lot of eyeballs and the idea was born to install electronic advertising hoardings.
The idea was simpler than the execution. Planning permission had to be sought from Wandsworth Council and Transport for London, environmental studies commissioned and consultations with local residents undertaken. “There were some concerns, but those who attended our presentations understood how important it was to the club’s future and that it served a bigger purpose,” Tyrer said.
The club leapt through the various hoops and the screens were installed in November 2015. It was at this point a handful of opponents decided that there was not enough consultation in the planning permission process. A petition was launched, which gained just a couple of hundred signatures.
When that route failed, the group took to emailing advertisers claiming to represent widespread public opposition and threatening boycotts. “We explained that this was not true and we had support within the community, but at the end of the day if one site is causing them hassle, advertisers will just find another one,” Tyrer said. “That hits us in the pocket.”
The stakes are incredibly high for Rosslyn Park. Everything the club offer – the sevens tournament, the community programmes, the facilities used by schools and charities – is under threat if advertisers take fright.
“Everyone involved in community-based sport will know finances are always on a knife edge,” Tyrer said. “The screens gave us some security in order to plan and to work out how we can underpin that community and youth programme going forward. If the screens go down then it would kill that financial stream and ultimately the club.”
So, Rosslyn Park have launched a counter petition to prove they command the support of their local community. Within two weeks, it has attracted more than 9,000 signatures; by contrast the original petition received 500 in two years. England fly-half Cipriani has already lent his backing from South Africa.
“Rosslyn Park was what made my weekends fun,” Cipriani said. “The club and coaches formed a great group of kids which I am still very good friends with today. It’s actually pretty amazing how many of us have grown up together through our childhood. For this, I’ll be forever grateful to Rosslyn Park and the parents involved.”
More support is needed, otherwise English rugby’s most fertile breeding ground will be rendered extinct.
Find Rosslyn Park’s petition at change.org/p/amanda-benzecry- carpa-support-rosslyn-park- rugby-club-and-secure-our- future
Future of Rosslyn Park, launch pad for countless stars, at risk due to British Nimbyism