Belper Hockey Club reels after Floods – an appeal for help.

On October 21st following Storm Babet the river Derwent flooded, covering our Astro pitch and watering system with 1.5 metres of water, mud, and debris. Even our Clubhouse which is built above the alleged 100-year flood level had 400mm of brown silty water inside. 

On the approach of Storm Babet our members were busy moving items above flood level even to the extent of unscrewing doors and other fixtures in the clubhouse. Sadly, these precautions cannot prevent all the damage caused by a flood of this magnitude. 

Whilst members have spent days manually scraping and carrying tons of mud and slime off the Astro and elsewhere, we still face the costs of pitch cleaning equipment, replacing 2 flooded motors, loss of revenue and hiring pitches elsewhere etc. It is expected that the Hockey Club will incur approx. £5000 of additional costs to get anywhere close to resuming normal play. These costs will place an immense strain upon our resources, hence this appeal to assist us in recovering.

We are not insured for Flood Damage as we are on a flood plain, as we have been for the past 115 years. 

Belper Hockey Club provides Hockey Facilities for 450 people from Belper and the surrounding area. Whilst we are the premier Hockey Club in Derbyshire, we welcome players of all abilities, our members are aged 6 to 80. 

Any donations you can make to our Flood Recovery will be much appreciated. Click here to donate through the website (most cost efficient). We also have a Go Fund Me page.

Thank you for your support.

Kind regards, Chairs of Belper Hockey Club

Head over to the gallery for some pics that help illustrate our plight.