New Kitchen Brings Volunteers and Community Groups Together at Budleigh Salterton Cricket Club

More than 500 schoolchildren, several book clubs, SEND festivals and a century-old cricket club now have access to something which sounds small, but will have a great impact on the community: a proper kitchen.

Budleigh Salterton Cricket Club, a community hub for well over a hundred years, has upgraded its plumbing and installed fridges and full kitchen facilities with support from South West Water's Better Futures Fund. Volunteers applied for the funding as demand on the club's facilities kept growing, and the new kitchen was ready in time for the start of this year's cricket season.

The change is a small one in practical terms but a meaningful one in how the club actually runs. Where volunteers previously had to prepare food at home before bringing it in for cricket teas or daily junior matches, they can now cook together on site, and the club says that shared preparation has become a genuine part of the experience itself, not just a logistical fix. A barbecue now runs every Sunday through the summer, while the kitchen will switch to supporting training sessions and runners using the grounds once winter arrives.

Because the facility isn't reserved for cricket alone, its impact reaches well beyond the club's own membership. More than 500 schoolchildren use the site regularly, alongside book clubs, SEND festivals and the club's regular players, all of whom now have access to the improved kitchen and community space.

Carolyn Roper, fundraising coordinator at Budleigh Salterton Cricket Club, credited the funding directly with the change in how the club now operates. "Budleigh Salterton Cricket Club would like to thank South West Water for their support enabling us to install a community kitchen at the cricket club," she said. "The kitchen was up and running ready for the start of the cricket season and has had a hugely positive impact with so many teams making their own cricket teas."

Dani Twelvetree, director of customer communications and engagement at South West Water, said the fund exists precisely for outcomes like this. "The Better Futures Fund is all about bringing communities together to foster connections, and what better way to bring people together than over a plate of food?" she said. "We are delighted that, with our support, Budleigh Salterton Cricket Club now has these additional facilities to host events, prepare food together and provide refreshments for club members."

Budleigh's kitchen is one example of what the fund has already made possible, and there's scope for more clubs to benefit. South West Water has already opened its next round of Better Futures funding, running until December 2026. The wider £5 million Better Futures Fund includes £2.5 million earmarked for community groups working in physical activity, education, health and wellbeing, and positive environmental impact, with £850,000 of that ringfenced specifically for South West Water customers over five years.

For grassroots clubs looking to make the same kind of upgrades as Budleigh, it's worth taking a look at this programme as a potential source of funding, before applications close this December.

For more information on South West Water’s Better Futures programme, or to apply for your own club’s funding from it, visit https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/our-south-west/community/better-futures-fund