Bovis Homes has given Sawtry Colts Football Club £500 to help it achieve its goal of renovating an old store cabin.
The housebuilder, which is building 295 new homes at its Judith Gardens location on land off Gidding Road in the village, has donated the money to allow the club to refurbish the old portable cabin where equipment used by the young players is kept.
The metal cabin, which has been at the club at Greenfield, off Straight Drove, for at least 20 years, is used to house the goal posts, nets, balls and other equipment for the Colts, which has 17 teams spanning the under 7s to under 16s.
The club has coated the outside of the cabin with special paint which will allow images to be painted on it and is considering hiring a local graffiti artist to decorate the structure.
Dave Gorman, who is vice-chairman at Sawtry Colts FC and coaches an under 13s team, said: “It is brilliant news for us to have this ongoing relationship with Bovis Homes, who are building homes in the village.
“The cabin has been at the club for a long time and has seen better days and could be considered as being a bit of an eyesore. However, we have now transformed it into something that the club and the young players can be proud of. As part of the refurbishment, we might get the club’s crest painted on.
“We reckon it could cost up to £1,400 to renovate the cabin, particularly if we hire the services of a local graffiti artist to really brighten up and modernise the outside of the cabin. So, the generous £500 donation from Bovis Homes has allowed us to forge ahead with the renovation.
“It was heartening to discover that when we reached out to Bovis Homes, they, as a local business, were happy to help us. These are tough times for lots of people so to have this support from a huge company like Bovis Homes is invaluable to us.”
This support for Sawtry Colts FC follows a donation of £200 made by Bovis Homes to sponsor the club’s end of season tournament at the beginning of July.
The two-day event saw 98 teams and nearly 1,000 young players compete in a number of age groups.
Joel Tedham, sales manager at Judith Gardens, said: “When Sawtry Colts FC got in touch about possible funding for both the end of season tournament and the cabin renovation project we were more than happy to help.
“The two donations that we have made are a testament to our commitment to support local organisations and our ongoing relationship with Sawtry Colts FC. The £200 helped provide trophies for an excellent two-day event which saw nearly 1,000 youngsters connect through playing the game they love.
“It is also great to know that the £500 donation has helped in its innovative plan to brighten up an old store cabin and make it into a landmark that the club and the young players can be proud of.”
