HUNMANBY'S under-threat sports association has been hard hit by the cold winter, prompting fresh fears for its future.
The Hunmanby Playing Fields Association provides changing facilities and oversees the playing fields that surround the clubhouse in Sands Lane.
Membership of the association, which once stood at more than 700, has fallen rapidly in recent years an
d is now just 179.
To make matters worse, no football has been played at the parish council owned playing fields since December 11, meaning the clubhouse has been starved of much-needed bar takings.
Treasurer Marilyn Skelton said that the two men's football teams, women's football team and countless junior teams run from the clubhouse may have to fold if the association's fortunes do not turn around.
She said: "To be brutally honest, if the membership doesn't get behind the club it will go out of business.
"We need more members and the ones we do have need to get involved with fundraising.
"The weather really hasn't helped with the income at the bar and the membership numbers have also fallen because people that come through from a bit of a distance away haven't been able to get here."
Mrs Skelton also revealed that plans to take out a mortgage on the clubhouse to provide working capital and pay for refurbishment had been shelved because of the economic climate.
She said: "The banks are not lending at the moment and we don't want to take on borrowing if no more people are going to come through the doors.
"We do need to refurbish but it's out of the question at the moment. We have been able to do a bit of redecoration but it's all been on a voluntary basis."
The Sands Lane site is owned by Hunmanby Parish Council, which was alerted to the financial plight of the association at its last meeting.
On hearing they were behind with their rent, chairman Cllr Eddie Flory said: "You can feel sorry for them, but this is money that's due to us."
Mrs Skelton has been involved with the association since 1976 when it started raising funds for a clubhouse, before it was finally built in 1986. However, she admitted she is less than optimistic about the future.
She added: "I will do everything I can to keep the place going, but to be honest I'm getting despondent. The youngsters in particular need to put their backs into fundraising.
"The association is run for the community and not for anyone's personal gain. People need to appreciate what we have in Hunmanby because once it is gone we will never get it back."
