Cirencester Rugby is crowdfunding to recover funds spent last week on removing travellers from the clubhouse grounds and protecting our grounds.

After being closed for months during lockdown the rugby club was eager and proud to reopen on Saturday 17th in the beautiful sunshine. After a touch competition with the U16s and Seniors, the outside marquee was once again welcoming members back for hospitality and the till was ringing.

Then it all changed when mid evening a group of travellers circa 30 caravans, arrived and took over Pitch 2 and Pitch 3. Mayhem and confusion ensued. The police were involved, and it became a long story on rights and what we could and couldn’t do to protect our private property. From that point on the club was closed to rugby training and hospitality.

Many phone calls and conversations later, we then engaged with a professional law firm who specialise in such matters and they served a 24-hour eviction notice on Tuesday afternoon. The chairman and head coach kindly camped out during Tuesday evening to keep an eye on our property and assets and maintain a presence.

Late on Wednesday afternoon the travellers started to pack up and were escorted off the property and by 7pm our fabulous army of 30+ volunteers from the club and local community descended rubber gloves, litter pickers and bags at the ready and started the daunting and somewhat challenging process of clearing up. Cotswold District Council helped with the removal of a mountain of bin bags and on Thursday sent a specialist team to safely remove the hazardous materials! Enough said!

Many volunteers worked hard also on Saturday to further clean up and tidy the grounds as part of a works party. We did experience a mini hiccup when two more caravans arrived at lunch time, but we swiftly dealt with it with great police help and they left on the grounds of threatening behaviour.

Head of Grounds and a willing, strong team have since completed works and made the pitches safe with gates, locks, and physical barriers. A local farmer and clubman has helped with a barricade while we order the gate. The height barrier gate is being sourced after liaison with CDC so that their permit holders can get access for business parking during the week.

In summary, the club bar was once again able to open across the weekend, the seniors returned to training on Thursday and the U15/16 and the M&Y on a sunny Sunday morning.

We are hoping to recover some of the costs we have had to outlay during this week through a community crowdfunding campaign:

We have had to finance:

- The legal eviction cost and law fees *

- A height barrier for the main entrance *

- Internal gates and locks

- Security manpower

- Loss of earnings while the clubhouse closed again

- Materials & cleaning

These two items alone amount to 60% of the crowdfunding amount.

Your donations are gratefully received and as a members’ club, we thrive on the generosity not only of our membership, but the businesses who partner with us and the kind community folk who have supported and helped us in the last few days.

Members and non-members are welcome to the club house, which is now safe, being further secured and spotlessly clean – serving food and great beer and with rugby back on our pitches.

Thank you so much for any donation you can make to recover our costs.

#WeAreCiren