Playing Field and Recreation Ground Bere Regis

Bere Regis Sports Club is the operating name for the official charity 'Playing Field and Recreation Ground, Bere Regis'! The sports club are the locally appointed managers of the recreation ground on behalf of 'Fields in Trust' (formerly known as the National Playing Fields Association). Part of the ground was gifted to NPFA by the Drax family back in 1930 on condition that it was kept as a playing field for the local community and managed by representatives of that community. The sports club have also have full financial responsibility for the ground and all the buildings and facilities provided and receive no regular grants or subsidies from any government or local authority sources.

In 2019, the southern part of the ground (used for the football pitch) which the club leased from Morden Estates was put up for sale at auction, without consultation of any kind. The club had to act quickly and decisively in order to save that part of the field from new ownership and a potentially uncertain future. By the time the sale was agreed and all legal fees paid the club had spent over £40,000 in securing that future as an essential part of the recreation ground. The club is now in the process of receiving 'ownership' of the northern part of the field back from Fields in Trust, along with a Deed of Dedication, after which the whole of the ground will be vested with the Charity Commission Official Custodian. The Deed of Dedication, along with the Queen Elizabeth 2nd playing field status and an 'Asset of Community Value' deemed by Dorset Council, will mean that the sports club have achieved the greatest level of protection possible to ensure that the recreation ground remains just that for the parishioners of Bere Regis and surrounding parishes, but at a cost of nearly £50,000 once all the remaining legal fees are settled!

Any contributions towards these costs will be very gratefully received and will enable the work of the club to continue.