Pontefract Sports and Social Club calls out for members as it faces closure

Pontefract Sports and Social Club’s membership has fallen to just 231, compared to its heyday in the 1970s when it boasted over 2,000.

Formerly known as the Labour Club, it was built in the 1970s using brewery money after thousands agreed to sign up for membership.

But numbers have fallen to critical levels, and club president Paul Bushnell, says the club on Chequerfield close is now in serious financial difficulty after being forced to take out a loan.

He said: “We now have 231 members and only 75 are coming week in week out. Unless you know it’s there, you won’t see it.

“We need to re-invent it ourselves. There’s so much that goes on here, it’s always been a community-based club, but we are struggling.

“I would be devastated (if it closed), one of the reasons I moved here in the first place is because of the club.

“If it goes, there will be a lot of who people who will say they wish it hadn’t gone, but they are the ones who need to come in.

“There is still room for clubs likes these.”

The club still has a thriving football club, with more than a dozen teams, and has recently introduced poker nights, quizzes and cabaret nights.

The club was forced to sell off part of its land earlier this year to help plug its financial gaps, but was only a short-term solution to the issue.

Membership to the club is £5 a year, although it is open to non-members.

For further details log onto the club’s Facebook page.