Hull KR Community Trust awarded £266,250​ CreatedBy grant

The RLWC2021 CreatedBy Capital Grants projects continue to flourish as the tournament now grows ever closer and the latest grant has been awarded to the Hull Kingston Rovers Community Trust.

RLWC2021 is delighted to announce that in conjunction with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Sport England and the Rugby Football League, a large grant of £266,250 has been awarded to the trust. The funding will support the refurbishment of community facilities at Craven Park Stadium and pitch improvement works on the community grass pitches.

Hull Kingston Rovers Community Trust provide a variety of programmes for the local community, beyond Rugby League including nutrition and employability support, which they will be looking to build on when the facility project is complete. The Trust engaged with 10,489 individuals in 2019 and forecast this to rise to over 13,000 with the facility improvements helping to provide a more welcoming environment and supporting the recruitment of new and retention of current players and individuals.

The Trust are also planning to develop their women and girl’s Rugby League pathway further by introducing a new U11s team and U18s team. The development plan has also highlighted the Trust’s aspirations to create a Physical Disability Rugby League side and to develop a second Learning Disability Rugby League team.

Through their strong links with schools in the East of Hull, the Trust will continue to deliver their rugby league coaching programme and will host festivals and competitions at the newly refurbished facilities.

The Trust will also be looking to engage more with marginalised groups such as individuals from BAME and LGBTQ communities.

Hull Kingston Rovers Community Trust Director, Mike Smith, told us, “The Hull Kingston Rovers Community Trust are delighted to have been awarded a grant, which is in excess of £250,000, from Rugby League World Cup’s CreatedBy fund. The grant is towards a project which will cost over half a million pounds and has been delivered in conjunction with RLWC2021, Sport England, DCMS & The RFL. The project will improve the changing facilities in the east stand as well as the drainage on the pitches at the rear of the east stand. This will allow more people to access our facilities and keep us as close to the community as possible. In 2022, the Trust will be running five girls’ teams, at different age groups, as well as a women’s team and a LDRL team. The new facilities will make their training and match day experience much better and hopefully help attract new players to the sport.”

 â€œI would like to thank Sport England, DCMS, The RFL and Jon Dutton and his team at the RLWC2021 as well as the Trustees of the Hull Kingston Rovers Community Trust, without who, this would not have been possible”.

Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston said: “The Rugby League World Cup is fast approaching, and the CreatedBy Capital Grants team continue to play a crucial role in distributing much needed investment for the Rugby League community. This latest round of funding will prove vital in helping the Hull Kingston Rovers Trust carry out much needed improvements to the Craven Park Stadium facilities.”

“We are delighted to be working in partnership with Sport England, the Rugby Football League and CreatedBy Capital Grants in getting these funds to where they're needed most."

Jon Dutton, RLWC2021 Chief Executive said, “The CreatedBy RLWC2021 Capital Grants Programme is focused on ensuring the next generation of rugby league players have the best possible experience and barriers to participate are removed. We are delighted to award this grant to Hull Kingston Rovers Community Trust and look forward to seeing the results of this investment that aims to deliver real change in their community.”