The Downs Netball Club is delighted to welcome the £1 million allocation of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding towards the proposed new community sports facilities at Hook Road Arena — an important step towards creating much-needed facilities for netball and football in Epsom & Ewell.
For The Downs, the announcement comes at a particularly appropriate time. This Sunday, the club begins its new Premier League season against Hucclecote, but despite being an Epsom & Ewell club, the team will once again have to travel outside the borough to St Catherine’s School in Bramley to stage its home fixture.
The Downs has grown into a thriving community club, providing opportunities from junior netball through to the national Premier League. However, the ambition for Hook Road Arena goes far beyond providing a home for one club.
It is an opportunity to support and grow netball across the wider Surrey community. Netball is a predominantly female sport, played by thousands of women and girls across the county, yet access to suitable courts and venues remains a significant challenge. New facilities in Epsom & Ewell could provide additional capacity for clubs, leagues, schools, competitions and performance netball, helping more women and girls to play and stay involved in the sport.
For a sport that is overwhelmingly played by women and girls, investment in facilities matters. If we want female sport to grow, we need to provide the places in which it can grow.
The £1 million CIL allocation therefore represents much more than investment in a single club. It gives us hope for a facility that could serve Epsom & Ewell while making a valuable contribution to the wider Surrey netball community.
For now, however, The Downs remains on the road. Our Premier League season begins this Sunday, 13 September at 11am at St Catherine’s School, Bramley, when The Downs take on Hucclecote.
Everyone is welcome to come along and support Epsom & Ewell’s Premier League netball team.
