A NEW £210,000 community sports club has opened in Ryedale, giving a massive boost to grassroots sport across the area.

Sherburn Community and Sports Club, near Malton, features two state-of-the-art team changing rooms and two more for officials, all built to Football Association standard.

There are also fully-accessible spectator WCs, a kitchen and a spacious community area with spectacular views across the Yorkshire Wolds.

The complex, which was officially opened by Thirsk and Malton MP Anne McIntosh, will be used by several football clubs - Pheonix JFC, Pickering JFC and Scarborough Ladies FC - but members of the wider community will also benefit from the wide range of sports and social activities on offer.

Sherburn Playing Field Association worked in partnership with the East Riding FA to secure a £94,725 grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund towards the £210,380 project.

Barry Dobson, Sherburn Community and Sports Club project manager, said it had been a long three years since the new club was first proposed. "Without the help of our funders – the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, Sport England, Yorventure, Kingspan, Ryedale District Council and the late Mr Aubrey Church, of Sherburn – the construction of this project would not have gone ahead. Now complete, it is one of the best facilities in the region."

Paul Thorogood, chief executive of the Football Foundation, said the 'outstanding' sports club was an example of the positive impact that money from the facilities fund was having on the grassroots game.

"First-class facilities like this are crucial to creating more opportunities for local people to enjoy regular sport," he said.

“Aided by the East Riding FA, Sherburn Playing Field Association deserves huge credit for taking a vision and turning it into a reality. Sport has the power to make a positive impact on the health of communities and this wonderful new facility will improve the sporting experience of local people and encourage them to be more active.”