This evening will see the last training, or match, on our top pitch for a while to come.  In a very exciting development for the club, we are beginning work to improve the facilities for our members and this will start tomorrow morning when the pitches will be sprayed.  

Attached you will find a letter from our Chairman, on behalf of the Strategic Development Sub committee, outlining the work being done and the vision for the club.

Please note the top pitch and walking track around that area and to the back of the clubhouse is now a construction site and access is restricted.  As with all construction, safety is paramount so we would ask that parents and mentors alike be aware of the risks.

We very much look forward to having green green pitches, usable year round, in the very near future but we will need your help to build something that will benefit everyone for years to come.

Nios fearr le cheile!

TWO MILE HOUSE STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATE AND COMMENCEMENT OF WORKS NOTICE TO MEMBERS

“Building for the Future’

29 Jul 22

A chairde,

Two Mile House GAA Strategic Development Update

Executive Summary

The Executive Committee has previously outlined our key strategic objectives for our club. Central to this

was to enhance the facilities at our club, with a particular focus on the development of the playing pitches,

but also on additional amenities that we could make available to all members and indeed the community. In

doing so our aim was to provide:

• Upgraded playing facilities for our members to enjoy all year round

• Serve as an enabler for our children to reach their potential - and this is congruent with our other

key objective of our Player Pathway which is currently being rolled out by our Football Sub-

Committee.

• Provide facilities for our community where people can gather, walk, play or just socialise in safe

and secure surroundings.

To this end, the Strategic Development Sub Committee (SDSC) committee was set up by the executive

committee with the intention to further develop our club facilities for all members and for the community.

Over the last few months, the SDSC has been busy assessing the optimum next steps. We have arrived at

our recommendation as outlined below and have received approval from the executive committee to proceed

on this basis. with the first step which is the grant activation.

1. Current situation – where we are

The club were successful in our application for a Sports Capital Grant, to the tune of €148,000. We set about

looking at potential development options that could leverage on this grant, and also augment this with a

concerted and united fundraising initiative over the next 12 months to enable us to achieve the objectives

outlined below.

2. Future Facilities Plan for the club – where we want to go

The SDSC looked at a number of options which we agreed could improve the existing facilities and utilise

maximum capacity in order for our kids to reach their potential and our members and community to have an

enhanced facility for recreational use. These included:

• Development of a full-size all-weather pitch surface on the top pitch

• Development of a all-weather pitch surface behind the pitch and adjacent to the clubhouse

• Upgrading of both existing pitches to sand-finished pitches, to ensure increased availability of both

pitches throughout the year.

• Development of our floodlights on both pitches, to enable us to increase the capacity of our pitches

for both training and matches, and to serve as a community outlet for the continued health and

wellbeing for all.

• Development of other facilities for the community as a whole – e.g. practice wall, mini-games

areas, playground, enhancements to walking track.

There were many factors to consider in selecting the optimum stages for development – including financing,

timings, pitch availability, contractor availability, etc. This involved a lot of research work by all the SDSC

and encompassed talking to clubs who had undertaken similar projects, looking at projects completed,

talking to prospective contractors, talking to grant authority, collecting quotations, assessing offers, etc.

3. How do we get there? Recommendations

“Building for the Future’

Having duly considered all of the above, the SDSC recommended, and received approval for, the

development stages outlined below. The Club will now proceed on a 3-stage development plan, which will

comprise of:

Stage 1 – Aug 2022/March 2023

• Installation of a sand-based pitch on the top pitch. This will enable this pitch to be available for

most of the year, and provide a modern, sand-finished playing surface for the club.

• This phase will also include development of the surrounding areas of the pitch to enable further

work such as all-weather training pitch, playground, walking track enhancement to take place at a

later stage.

• As already highlighted earlier this year, this will involve planning around the pitch non-availability

until at least Q3 2023 – this was also outlined to the coaches at the recent coaches meeting. We

hope to have a couple of alternatives training areas which we will update on in due course. In the

interim we request your cooperation and flexibility as we embark on key developments on our

pitches.

• We are also hoping to proceed with the initial phase of the Astro training pitch once the top pitch

works are complete in late August. This will involve the site preparation, drainage and laying of

the astro surface. (This is subject to final approval from the grant authority and confirmation of no

planning required for the laying of the surface). We hope to have this completed by end-September,

and have a training surface available for the winter season.

• Completion of the all-weather training pitch and ball wall (this will be subject to P.P.) to include

lighting and fencing.

Stage 2 Q2 23

• Installation of a sand-based pitch on the main pitch. This will enable our main pitch to be available

for most of the year, and provide a modern, sand-finished playing surface for the club.

• This will involve planning around the pitch non-availability until Q3 2024. We will have the top

pitch back in operation before we commence works on the main pitch.

• This will enable this pitch to be available all year round, and provide a modern, facility which the

club can work on skills development in line with the football committee’s strategy, and the

community will get use out of - in addition to providing the club with a potential source of regular

income.

Stage 3 Late 2023/early 2024

• Development of a kids’ playground – a valuable outlet for all the community.

• Enhancement of the walkway – thus providing a safe and illuminated route for all our members and

visitors to exercise in a safe and secure environment.

Note:

The above is obviously subject to changes outside the control of the committee – e.g. KCC, PP, etc. We also

hope that we can accelerate Stage 3 but this is up to all of us and will depend on the level of fundraising

achieved and capital available. Appendices A and B contain an outline of both the development footprint

and the schedule and milestones.

4. Proposals

The SDSC received a number of proposals for the different aspects of our plan – from where we concentrated

on the first two phases of the project. This was then narrowed down to a shortlist of three contractors.

Following a further stage of analysis, Clearwater Ltd. was selected as the preferred contractor.

“Building for the Future’

5. Funding required to complete the developments.

Of course such development does not come without a cost. We are confident that we have achieved the best

available price for such works when compared to the current market alternatives – and hence we are

determined to proceed with the plan and capitalise on the opportunity available to us in terms of pricing and

timing.

To achieve Stage 1

We need to raise c. €150,000 between now and March 23 to augment our grant allocation and the funds built

up in the club over the last few years. This will enable the completion of the Astro surface, along with sports

fencing and ready for lighting (which will be subject to PP along with the ball wall and playground).

To achieve Stage 2 & 3

We need to raise a further c. €200,000 to complete stages 2 and 3. This will give us a second sand-finished

pitch, lighting, upgraded walkway and a playground.

The SDSC have considered a number of options for funding. The final solution will be a combination of:

• Continued club fundraising activities – if we aspire to further develop our club and to provide our

children, members, and indeed our community with modern, safe facilities in which to enjoy and

to enable our kids to reach their potential, then it behoves all of us to support our fundraising efforts

to achieve this strategic objective.

• Corporate sponsorships – which the sub-committee are currently working on with the finance

committee.

• Grant allocations – there are further grants available which we are currently working on.

• Debt funding – this option will only be used as a last resort if required and will depend on a number

of factors – e.g. trustee approval, terms, amount of sponsorship received, exec. Committee

approval, available CAPEX, etc.

• We will be outlining further details of the above in due course as the fund-raising efforts intensify.

In conclusion I am pleased to announce the commencement of what is an exciting stage in the development

of our club’s facilities. I would firstly like to thank the SDSC members for their hard work in getting us to

this point. I also appeal for your cooperation in staying off the top pitch until Q2 2023. The astro surface

will also need to be protected when laid, and again I appeal to everyone to respect the club’s investment and

adhere to the directions which will be issued by the club secretary. Finally, I respectfully request your

support to help us achieve our first fundraising objectives in the coming months. I am sure our sand-finished

pitches, our astro training pitch, enhanced walkway and playground will long be a testament to the collective

hard work of everyone involved in making this happen.

Yours in sport,

__________________

Padraig Conneely

Chairman

On behalf on the SDSC: Members: Donal Browne, Cormac Browne, Des Healy, PJ Gaire, Joe Coleman, P.

Conneely

“Building for the Future’

Appendix A – Outline plan view