It has been an unbelievably hard slog for all involved in this project. This is a good opportunity to thank all our funders and sponsors for their understanding and continued support.

So where are we?

In terms of the project finances we are significantly over budget. This is in very large part due to the Brexit and Covid related costs. We have seen increases of 25% in the cost of windows and doors, roof and wall cladding; copper prices have increased by over 60% (plumbing and electrics); timber prices have increased by up to 93%.

We have also seen price hikes in cement, plasterboard, insulation, etc - basically every aspect of the project has been massively impacted.

Naturally, when you have a budget and secured funding, it is extremely difficult to bridge the gap when prices increase to the extent we've seen.

Having started with a budget of ~£530,000 - £550,000 we are now looking at close out costs of ~£700,000.

Thankfully our funders have been very appreciative of the circumstances in which we find ourselves, and we have worked hard over the course of the last year to secure additional funding.

Unfortunately we can't go into full details until we have received that funding, however we can say that we were able to secure an extra £34,000 from Scottish Rugby which has been a massive help.

We also secured over £10,000 in other small grants and donations.

We had originally intended to contribute ~£77,000 of club funds towards the cost of the project, some of which we already had. Our intention had been to have a huge programme of fundraising activities, but we were unable to do the things we wanted due to Covid. That said, our March into May Fundraiser, in conjunction with My Name'5 Doddie Foundation, generated over £11,000 which has been used to keep the project going.

How long until we're finished?

We are at a stage now where the scaffolding will be coming down in the last week of October. That will allow space for the scratch coat to be applied to the blockwork and foundations to be laid for the balcony.

There is still external painting to be done and a little bit of finishing to the cladding but that will be managed.

Flooring is currently scheduled to be in by the middle of November. This needs to be done before the changing rooms can be finished.

Painting is largely complete. The kitchen needs to be purchased and installed, and the bar will follow after that.

Realistically, we will not have full use before Christmas, but hopefully we will at least have access to changing facilities before then.

All the photos of current state of construction can be seen in the photo album HERE

The electrics and plumbing are largely complete, the stairs and lift are in