As The Downs Netball Club begins another Premier League season, there has also been plenty happening off the court this summer — including a major step forward for the future of community sport in Epsom & Ewell.
The £1 million allocation of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding towards Epsom & Ewell Sports Park marks an important milestone in plans to create much-needed new community sporting facilities at Hook Road Arena.
At the centre of the project is a unique collaboration between The Downs Netball Club and Epsom & Ewell Football Club — two successful community clubs from different sports, but with remarkably similar challenges and the same objective.
Both have grown without permanent homes. Both face enormous demand for their sports. And both recognise that the answer is not simply to build facilities for themselves, but to create something that can serve the wider community for generations.
Working together through Epsom & Ewell Sports Park CIC, the two clubs have developed a shared vision for a community sports park that will provide permanent homes for football and netball while creating additional sporting capacity for the borough and beyond.
The philosophy behind it is simple: built by the community, for the community.
For netball, the need is particularly pressing. The Downs is already operating above capacity across multiple hired venues, while clubs, leagues, schools and community programmes across Epsom & Ewell and Surrey compete for limited court space.
The proposed new outdoor and covered netball courts would therefore be about far more than providing The Downs with a permanent home. They would create much-needed additional capacity for a predominantly female sport where the demand to participate already exceeds the facilities available.
Natalie Swift, Chair of The Downs Netball Club and Director of Epsom & Ewell Sports Park CIC, said:
“This £1 million allocation is a huge step forward for a project that has been driven from within our own sporting community. The Downs and Epsom & Ewell FC may be two very different clubs, but we share exactly the same ambition — to create permanent homes for our clubs while providing much-needed sporting facilities for the wider community.
“What makes this project special is that rather than each club trying to solve its own problems, football and netball have come together with one shared vision. We want to build something that will benefit thousands of people for generations to come.
“This really is built by the community, for the community, and the £1 million CIL allocation takes us an enormous step closer to making that vision a reality.”
A Major Commitment to the Future of the Site
The £1 million CIL allocation is a significant statement of intent from Epsom & Ewell Borough Council and demonstrates its commitment to reinvigorating land at Hook Road Arena that has long been allocated for playing field and sporting use.
It represents an important step towards turning that land into a thriving community sports hub, creating new opportunities for football, netball and the wider community while securing its sporting use for future generations.
Importantly, the £1 million allocation also represents a clear statement of intent from the Council to work towards a long-term lease for the site. That long-term commitment would provide Epsom & Ewell Sports Park CIC and the two clubs with the security needed to attract further investment, progress the development and ultimately deliver the facilities for the community.
For women and girls in particular, increasing netball capacity has implications far beyond competitive sport. More courts mean more opportunities to play, stay physically active, build friendships and confidence, and enjoy the benefits of a fit and healthy lifestyle.
The £1 million allocation is therefore about much more than two clubs. It is an investment in community sporting infrastructure and in a partnership built around the belief that two clubs working together can achieve far more for their community than either could achieve alone.
After years of work, the project now has real momentum: a significant funding allocation, two community clubs working side by side and a shared ambition to transform a long-established sporting site for the next generation.
Two sports. Two clubs. One community. One shared ambition — to build something that lasts.
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