06/06/2026
A Rec update: The leatherjacket blight destroyed more than half our pitches, and the cricket square. The plan to deal with the grass-eating larvae went very well in March and April, halting the destruction. The next step was to re-instate grass, turn the Rec into a rec again, and then restore it to sport-playing condition.
Unfortunately with only one decent day's rain from mid-April to the end of May we have been dealt some awfully cruel cards. A good portion of the grass we sowed cooked.
In recent years our winters have been warmer and wetter, and our summers more drought-like than in decades gone by. It's making it incredibly hard (expensive) to restore the Rec when there is no irrigation.
LGCSA and by extension SPC face an awful dilemma. The do-nothing option projects forwards to hoping the weather in September would enable grass to germinate and thrive, starting then. But if we wait till that weather we have 36 mini soccer teams - boys and girls from 6 -11 years old who no longer have a home for their football fixtures for the 2026-27 season. It doesn't help that this week the people running the all-weather pitches at Tunbridge Wells Boys Grammar, and Mascall's Academy demanded a 25% price hike for us to be able to renew the 3g bookings we have with them.
In short, if we are to be able to support kids playing sport in the Rec next season we need to restore the Rec right now, and after the 7 arid weeks it is clear that any plan requires an irrigation strategy for the next 2-3 months.
On Monday SPC voted to allocate £7,500 to the project, and on Friday LGCSA's application to Kent FA was rewarded with a £5,000 contribution. Armed with this, plus LGCSA's funds and volunteer workforce we are now able to attempt a rescue plan.
The recent (long overdue) rain has softened the ground enough to vert-slit it, after which we add more grass seed....but instead of depending on Mother Nature we are aiming to import temporary water tankage and a manifold, so we can keep the Rec watered, for the summer months, allow seed to germinate, grass to grow, and pitches to be restored.
It's brave, and shows the level of commitment people have to kids' recreation and sport. We still need fingers very crossed, and volunteers to help ensure we get the water to the right places.
That's the short -term crisis attacked. Longer term we must face some harsh realities. The cost of maintaining grass playing areas is soaring with climate change, and the challenges it seems to be bringing. Any large area that cannot be watered is vulnerable to long term deterioration if the 'mother nature' window of opportunity to rejuvenate grounds continues to be this narrow. The options are stark: 1.hope the last few years of weather are an aberration. or...2. accept these sports pitches are doomed, and downsize activity if no suitable venues can be found, or 3. find a long term irrigation solution not to mention a solution to being waterlogged from November through to May.
Some dedicated people are staring hard at option 3 in coming months, but for now it has been heartwarming to see a short-term plan come together from multiple directions.
fingers still crossed,
Chris
