Leadenham Hockey Club having to stop playing at Yarborough Leisure Centre after Active Nation stopped operating, after having to leave RAF Cranwell just months prior

A hockey club says losing its pitch for the second time in a year has been “a massive loss”.

Leadenham Hockey Club had to stop playing at their normal RAF Cranwell ground for safety reasons before Christmas.

The club started using the facilities at Yarborough Leisure Centre – only for that to unexpectedly close last week when Active Nation stopped operating.

They now face an uncertain future as they wait to see whether a provider can be found to reopen the centres.

Ellie Chambers, co-chairman of the club, said: “We’ve been really unlucky to lose both pitches in just a few months.

“At the start of the season, we had two men’s teams, two ladies’ and a junior team.

“The men had a fantastic season despite everything that was going on, but unfortunately the disruption means we’ve lost one ladies team and the other got relegated, while our juniors had dropped from around twelve players to just three or four.

“We weren’t able to arrange a new location for the women’s match after we found out that Yarborough had closed, meaning we had to forfeit a match.

“We really need to find a new permanent location as soon as possible.

“We’ve been asking Hockey England and the local councils, but the fact hockey has to be played on Astroturf, not 3G, makes it tricky.”

The club, whose players come from across the Sleaford and Grantham areas, had just celebrated its 20th anniversary before the closures.

“Hopefully a new operator can be found to take over Yarborough – it’s been a massive loss to us and lots of clubs,” Ellie said.

“We were so grateful to Lindum Hockey Club for allowing us to share their facilities there.

“Realisticly, we’ve got until August to find new facilities.”

The club’s previous facilities on RAF Cranwell had drainage problems which caused a build-up of mud.

City of Lincoln Council plans to begin the search for a new company to take over from Active Nation for the next two years.