Franklands Village Football Club
Mr. R J Weller
Hon. Secretary
Franklands Village Football Club
31, Northlands Avenue
Haywards Heath
West Sussex
RH16 3RT
June 1, 2004
An open letter to the players and members of
Franklands Village Football Club (FVFC), 
The Matthew Clark Sussex County League (MCSCFL), 
The Robert Gray Mid-Sussex Football League (MSFL),
The Sussex County Football Association (SCFA),
Chris Francis of the Mid-Sussex Times
The Hardy Memorial Playing Fields Trust and
Franklands Village Social Club (FVSC)

Dear All,
In response to recent speculation as to the future of Franklands Village Football Club, the committee called an extraordinary general meeting of it’s players, 100 club members and supporters on Friday 28th May.
The sole item on the agenda was to discuss the future of our football club.  During the natural course of the meeting, the committee provided an update on the topics that follow:
1.	Hardy Memorial Playing Fields Trust and Changing Facilities
The existing facilities at the ground are in a state of disrepair and the changing rooms will be pulled down within the next 2-3 weeks.
Since the reformation of the Hardy Memorial Playing Fields Trust, members of the FVFC committee have sat on the Playing Fields Trust committee.  During this time we have witnessed first-hand the trusts commitment to maintaining the playing field and building a pavilion for the Franklands Village (and surrounding areas) community.
Under the terms of the current arrangement, FVFC pay ground rent of £1000.00 per season to the trust.  FVFC is responsible for the maintenance of the ground during the football season, with the playing fields trust meeting the cost of restoring the pitch during the close season. 
In order to build a new facility to MCSCFL specifications at a cost in excess of £100,000, the trust proposed an increase in rent of 50% to recoup the loss of interest from their capital outlay.  Under the terms of the new licence, FVFC would also need to assume financial responsibility for maintenance of the playing field throughout the close season, thus increasing our rental expenditure by circa 300%.
In order to commence work on the new facility, the trust sought agreement from the committee of FVFC, that we would meet the increased costs for at least the next five years.  In return for agreeing to the terms of the licence, FVFC would have “main” use of the facility for at least the next five seasons.

2.	Sponsorship proposals
After a mutually successful period, the sponsorship deal with JetSave/Tropical Places has run it’s course and ceased at the end of the 2003/04 season. The package for last season generated sufficient income to meet almost one third of the club’s running costs and FVFC would like to go on record and thank JetSave/Tropical Places for their invaluable support over the years.
Being aware of the withdrawal of the JetSave/Tropical Places package, the committee of FVFC advised Franklands Village Social Club of its predicament.  FVSC put us in touch with their representative at Shepherd Neame who kindly attended a committee meeting in February and invited us to send a sponsorship proposal.  
The proposal was sent at the beginning of March and highlighted a projected shortfall of £4400.00 for the forthcoming season if we were to maintain two sides in the MCSCFL.  In addition to any sponsorship obtained from the brewery, FVSC also offered an annual payment in keeping with the package enjoyed by the Snooker and Darts teams at the social club.
Regrettably, the package proposed by Shepherd Neame and FVSC, coupled with the increased rental costs, leaves FVFC with a projected shortfall in excess of £2000.00, which is almost the same amount by which our rental costs will increase.
3.	Matthew Clark Sussex County Football League ground requirements
FVFC currently enjoys a grading of 3, which is the minimum requirement to play in the MCSCFL Division 3 and the MCSCFL Youth Section.  For a number of seasons the reserve team has managed to play in the reserve section, despite the regulations requiring a higher ground grade of 2.
In October 2003 the MCSCFL conducted an “as seen on the day” inspection of the ground and provided a report detailing the shortfalls identified for both a grade 2 and grade 3 ground.  The Playing Fields Trust was made aware of these shortfalls.  Whilst there were no insurmountable issues with the requirements identified for us to maintain our Division 3 status, it was made clear that we would be unable to do the work required to obtain a ground grade of 2.  
Therefore, whilst we would be able to play our first team (and a youth team if we had one) in the MCSCFL, we would not be able to play in the reserve section.  Not being able to offer reserve section football to our members seriously impinges on our ability to attract players and managers.  It also increases the gap between our first and second teams, making it difficult for players in the second team to progress.
4.	Update on potential mergers with other clubs
The members of FVFC were made fully aware of our discussions with other local clubs, and voted overwhelmingly against any proposed merger.

5.	FVFC to continue away from the Hardy Memorial Playing field
The members of Franklands Village Football Club have therefore voted to withdraw from the Matthew Clark Sussex County Football League and move away from the Hardy Memorial Playing Field.  Both the Mid-Sussex Football League and Mid Sussex District Council respectively have already confirmed a place for FVFC in Division 1 and a ground at Whitemans Green for next season.
Whilst this will inevitably mean the loss of some of our younger players to local SCFL clubs, both the body and spirit of FVFC will live on.  
The FVFC AGM will take place in the third week of June, in which we will elect the committee for the forthcoming season.
Yours sincerely
Mr. R J Weller
Hon. Secretary Franklands Village Football Club
Rob.weller2@lloydstsb.co.uk