New Junior Rugby League Kicks-Off In Style

Over 160 children and youths under the age of 16 will be taking part in the inaugural event of the new William Sutton Homes Chilterns Junior Rugby League 9-a-side tournament this Saturday (20th October). The event kicks off at 11am and is being hosted by Hemel Stags at their Pennine Way ground.

This tournament, one of the biggest rugby league events to be held in the area, marks the start of an exciting new sponsorship for the junior league by William Sutton Homes. Teams from Aylesbury, St Albans, Hatfield, Welwyn as well as Hemel Hempstead will be among the eight teams taking part in this opening event.

Regional Manager for William Sutton Homes, Sue Hopkins said:”We are delighted to be sponsoring this brand new league, as it will give so many local youngsters a chance to participate in a sport that is clearly very popular locally. Hemel Stags are based at Grovehill and many of our residents have an involvement with or following for the club.

“We want the new William Sutton Homes Junior Rugby League to have a great future and this event on Saturday will give it a fantastic kick-off,” added Sue.

In addition to the William Sutton Homes sponsorship, the scheme has been match funded by SportsMatch, part of Sport England.

Ends

Notes to Editors


William Sutton Homes was created earlier this year and combines the heritage of William Sutton with the stock transfer roots of Ridgehill. We now have a range of over 20,000 homes throughout England, from Plymouth to Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

We currently have an ambitious plan to develop over 1,000 new properties through 2006/2008;
Under The Housing Corporation’s 2006/2008 National Affordable Housing Programme we secured grant funding of over twice our previous level;
91% of our homes already meet the Government’s Decent Home Standard;
We invested £19 million in our residents’ homes during the last year including kitchen, bathroom, heating and window replacement programmes;
Our regeneration work is complemented through investing in our communities and last year we contributed £1.6 million to community projects and initiatives, and
Our annual turnover is £73 million.

William Sutton Homes is part of Affinity Sutton, one of the largest independent providers of affordable housing in the country, with 50,000 homes spread across more than 100 local authorities. Group turnover for 2006/2007 was £200 million and surpluses are used to benefit our residents through investing in local communities and contributing to our active development programme.



For more information or to arrange photo opportunities please call Tim Roberts on 0207 378 5548 or 07976 009 727 email: tim.roberts@affinitysutton.com