Giving back to the community

When Marc Newey became Chief Executive of Roehampton Club 15 years ago, he said the exclusive members’ club was quite “introverted” and didn’t play as much of a part of the local community as he would have liked.

The Club, which opened in 1901, is a multisports and social club next to Richmond Park and boasts an 18-hole golf course, 28 tennis courts, two padel tennis courts, gym and fitness studios, swimming pools, six squash courts and four croquet lawns, as well as hosting a range of activities including art and photography, a choir, bridge, backgammon, snooker and chess.

It is a private members’ club owned by the Members and has a “formal on court, informal off court” ethos and is so popular, it has a four-year waiting list counting several wellknown faces in the sporting and music world amongst its members.

Starting his sports management career with Leicester City Council, Marc knew how important it was to have a good relationship with the local council.

“I felt we weren’t giving back enough to our community in Roehampton or to Wandsworth,” said Marc.

“Roehampton ward has a number of areas of deprivation but also has affluent housing areas as well and many of these people are our members. We’re a wealthy club and members understand how privileged we are and many want to give something back.”

Marc became a member of Roehampton Partnership 12 years ago to try to help the community shape a productive relationship with Wandsworth Council.

“You need to promise and deliver on what you say you’re going to do,” he said.

“The community doesn’t trust any organisation unless you can do that. Roehampton University and the Club are two of the biggest employers in the area and we try to support the community as best we can, because it is the right thing to do. The Club has allocated a fund to help local community projects and we have spent thousands over the last few years helping local community projects. We ask the community what they need most and help in any way we can with funds and expertise.”

One of the Club’s Board directors, Michael Hill, set up a charity, Rackets Cubed, to enhance the long-term achievement of children through racket sports, education and nutrition. Roehampton Club was one of the first venues for the scheme, which has been rolled out across London and now UK wide.

“He asked me if I liked the idea of the Club hosting the charity and I said yes, but it had to be with local Roehampton children, so we teamed up with Sacred Heart, The Alton School and Heathmere Schools,” said Marc.

“It helps local disadvantaged children to become more active, helps them with maths and we provide a nutritious tea to finish. They walk down to the club with their teachers and use our facilities for squash and tennis tuition provided by our coaches, maths tutoring funded by the charity and then we provide tea free of charge. The kids love the run-around, their maths performance has shot through the roof and they love the food. It teaches young people to win graciously, lose graciously and have fun- no one gets left out, every child contributes.”

The charity launched the Roehampton Community Box in March 2020 to support families during the pandemic and Roehampton members continue to donate food and toiletries to the cause.

He also “argues on behalf of Roehampton residents” at local meetings to speed up the ongoing Alton area regeneration scheme. “I’m on the outskirts of it to be fair but I really want to help, it appeals to my community spirit,” he said.

Roehampton Club has been a patron of the Chamber for several years. The club, which has 5,000 members comprising 4,000 adults and 1,000 juniors, has hosted the Business Awards three times and a summer reception is planned.

“Hosting the Chamber helps to showcase the club to the local business community” he added.

“It is a good way to boost membership and it shows off the beautiful venue and gardens as we hold weddings and receptions here too.

“We are very proud to have won UK Sports Club of the year many times, lastly in 2022, and hope the Roehampton Community and Wandsworth Chamber is proud of us as well”