Sheppey Rugby Club have had permission granted to expand their clubhouse - and now need help to make it happen.

The club - located off the Lower Road - are planning a single-storey extension to the front and rear of the existing clubhouse to accommodate new changing facilities, toilets, an extension to the gym and creation of a physio room.

Improvements are in line with Sport England and the Rugby Football Union guidelines.

The rear extension will include a glazed elevation for spectators to view the pitch. A bigger bar area will assist with accommodating functions and raise funds to support the ongoing maintenance and running of the club.

These facilities will help with the club’s growth, including a women’s team that completed their first full match on home soil on Sunday ahead of playing in a league next season.

A club spokesperson said: “In order to prepare for next season there will be a lot of hard work to be done once the current season ends to be ready for next August.

“Fundraising is already in full swing. Three local councillors have already answered our prayers and granted money to the cause, but there are a lot of councillors who have not responded so far.”

The club are inviting customers to sponsor items on a wishlist of materials to help with the build, while donations of cash and labour are also welcome. Once built, the facilities will be available to hire in the community.

Plans will allow for referees and up to six teams to have individual team changing, shower and toilet facilities, which the club said is “a huge advance on the current group shower facilities accessed by a long and draughty corridor and even further back in time the communal bath in the old wooden clubhouse”.

The idea of expanding the club’s facilities are a long time in the making, having first been suggested more than 20 years ago. Sourcing funding for a new build would have been difficult because of the cost.

A club statement added: “The club now have a chairman (Charlie Osmond) and treasurer (Darren Chandler) who want to leave a legacy for the club and its members and the wider Island community, and are the driving force behind the new submission to the council.”