Buxted FC are in hot water - but it's good news

Buxted FC and the David Butcher Pavilion have undergone some significant improvements during lockdown.

Volunteers have painstakingly decorated and upgraded the interior while the exterior has also been given a new lease of life – with crisp white cladding and the addition of three picture windows that now provide a view of the pitch from the clubhouse.

The bar has been completely refurbished with new lighting, improved refrigeration and customer service facilities.

New outdoor furniture has been added, providing a place for visitors to be seated and the pitch has had significant investment with tonnes of topsoil, as well as specialist aeration treatments to improve drainage.

However, there was one significant issue… the 1960s hot water system wouldn’t have looked out of place on the Antiques Roadshow.

Installed when the pavilion was first built, the copper cylinders were failing and inefficient, the club needed replacements and sought quotations for this costly - but vital - work.

Several plumbing companies were asked to quote, including local firm Village Heating, and the response from company director Darren Standing was simply breath-taking, said Richard Turner, Buxted FC chairman.

“Darren stated that replacing copper cylinders with like-for-like replacements was only one option. He went on to say that Village Heating would like to supply and install two of the latest efficient high capacity stainless steel cylinders free of charge!”

True to their word, Village Heating sent one of their specialist installers and after a long, hard day’s work the job was complete – leaving the David Butcher Pavilion ready to face the next sixty years.

Turner said: “We cannot thank Darren and his team at Village Heating enough, what they have done for the club and the community is astounding.”

To find out more about Buxted FC and the David Butcher Pavilion visit their website buxtedfc.co.uk