The Rooks need to carry out improvement work on various parts of the Dripping Pan ground by March 31 next year if they are to avoid automatic relegation from the top flight of non-league soccer.

The club today signalled its intention to make all the necessary improvements in the necessary time but revealed that it could no longer fund work as in previous years. And in a statement released this afternoon, club chiefs appealed for "new" offers of support from individuals and businesses.

Work needed to be completed by the end of March includes improvements to the floodlights, an increase in ground capacity and an increase in the number of turnstile booths.

The statement in full reads, "Eight years ago, the Board of Directors of Lewes Football Club embarked upon a planned development of the Dripping Pan carried out in three principal phases; the construction of the Philcox Stand; the Rookery South Stand; and the work to the Eastern Ham Lane end.

"These works were phased to meet grant criteria set out by the Football Stadia Improvement Fund, the level at which the first team were then playing at, and the source of the very significant funds required to complete the projects.

"Those involved were delighted that the club was awarded a B grading by The FA Regulatory Body at the beginning of 2008. This allows Lewes Football Club to continue to be a member of the Conference League.

Grade A Grading Requirements

"Regardless of our performance and position in the Blue Square Premier league this season, we need to have attained an A ground grading at the Dripping Pan by 31st March 2009.

"The Board have, for several months, been consulting with the League Grading Committee; East Sussex County Council; The Safety Advisory Group; Lewes District Council Planning Department; our appointed Architects and a number of consultants and contractors.

"The required work for Grade A grading falls in to three key elements:

Floodlights

"The Dripping Pan floodlighting system does not meet current day regulations. It is expensive to maintain and is of concern in respect of certain Health and Safety issues.

"The average lux requirement across the whole playing surface has to be increased from 180 lux to 250 lux for Conference Premier League football and cannot be achieved by simply replacing or supplementing the lamps we currently have on our existing floodlight masts.

"We have obtained a number of costed options from three specialist floodlighting contractors, one of which will now be appointed to assist in providing the technical backup for a required planning application that we propose to submit at the end of October.

Ground Capacity

"Secondly, we have to increase the ground capacity from 3000 to 4000 in a manner which satisfies the Green Guide to Safety in Sports Grounds and we propose to extend our Eastern open terrace at the Ham Lane end right down to the South East corner.

"The necessary planning and building regulation approvals for these works have already been granted.

North West Corner Improvements

"Thirdly, in the North West corner of the ground in the Mountfield Road Car Park we propose to extend the block boundary wall from the Philcox Stand to Mountfield Road.

"Within this we have to incorporate two further turnstile booths and replace the temporary toilet block with a permanent structure that also includes the provision of a disabled toilet. Again the necessary permissions for these works have been obtained.

Costings

"We believe that with careful planning, all of these works could be carried out during the playing season and would need to be commenced early in December if they were to be completed prior to the 31st of March 2009.

"With the assistance of our architects and various specialist contractors, costs for the works are as follows:

New floodlighting installation £65,000 + VAT
Extension to East Terrace £160,000 + VAT
New turnstile entrances and toilet provision adjacent to Philcox Stand £85,000 + VAT

Funding

"We have had a number of discussions with the Football Stadia Improvement Fund who have agreed that all the works would be eligible for a grant, but if we were fortunate enough to be awarded a grant, it is likely to be in the region of 20% of total cost.

"The fund over the last few years has come under considerable pressure and so the awards they are now able to make to those clubs that fulfil all their criteria and can demonstrate the balance of the funding is in place and available, have been considerably reduced in percentage terms which is obviously deeply regrettable.

"The Board are actively pursuing the possibility of any other grant funding of which they are aware of, but are always open to any further suggestions of possible sources.

Assistance

"The Board cannot privately fund these works in the manner in which the previously completed development phases have been, and so the club is looking for "new" offers of support from individuals or businesses, alongside a couple of planned supporter initiatives that will be launched shortly, to help the club achieve the finance figures required.

"The Board are sure that supporters and everyone involved with Lewes Football Club would love to see these works completed, and are appealing for offers of further support.

"If you can offer assistance, please contact the Board of Directors in confidence at steve.white@lewesfc.com, who would be delighted to arrange a meeting to discuss matters further."