Woolworth Sports and Social Club to close

Woolworth's Sports and Social Club

After more than 39 years of business, Woolworths Sports and Social club will cease to trade from Wednesday 31 January.

The club was founded on 3 December 1979 by employees of the Woolworth Distribution Centre, on Royle Barn Road, Castleton.

A statement released by the committee says the decision has come due to “the club’s inability to deal with historic debt” coupled with “profit on sales not being sufficient to cover current outgoings”.

“The Committee has put in place measures to increase sales and profits such as an overall price rise, attracting more members, increasing the number of club events and attracting more out of club events (birthday, weddings, etc.).

“Even though these measures have been taken, and a rise in Sales has been seen, it’s just not enough and our suppliers are threatening to imminently cut services.

“Even if we could raise immediate funds, upcoming bills and costs of trading would soon see us in the same predicament going forward.

“Copies of this announcement will be posted to the club’s suppliers, HMRC and the property company that owns the club premises.”

However, a fundraiser to raise £30,000 has been launched online by the club to plug the gap in finances.

Organisers said: “This is a really sad end to an era. Woolies Club has been part of the Castleton Community for 39 years, we have had many many memorable functions and fantastic events enjoyed by both members and guests alike

“We need a cash injection to get to a clean slate where we can carry on the tradition of the club.”

Councillor Billy Sheerin said: “It is absolutely devastating. Woolworths is a well-loved and welcoming club and has always been a family club. The loss of the club and its terrific facility is a massive loss to the village.”

Councillor Aasim Rashid said: “The club was a place to come together for drinks and meetings, and its loss is really unfortunate for Castleton. It's really disappointing as a ward councillor and I'm looking to see if there's any chance of finance to reopen and restablish it. Time is very challenging due to budget cuts and it's very disappointing these kinds of places are closing down, and it's the community that receive the consequences.”

To help the club reach its target, visit:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/wooliessaveourclub