Financial boost to Fenland projects including town park, community centre and a village hall

Three Fenland projects have been awarded a share of nearly £3m of funding from a special fund set up by Cambridgeshire County Council.

The largest award went to Gorefield Parish Council, who received £198,000 for improvements to the village hall.

Thursday's Cambridgeshire communities and partnership committee approved funding totalling £3million for 16 schemes, which included the Wisbech Market Place improvements, and ranged in value from £10,000 to £500,000.

A report to the meeting explained Gorefield village hall was originally built in 2013, but has rapidly outgrown the space available due to demand from community groups to use the building.

The project, which will have match funding of £60,000 on top of the county's grant, will see an additional room created, which will allow for multiple community activities to take place at the same time.

The village hall helps to impact on skills, loneliness and obesity, as well as wider health and wellbeing outcomes.

In addition to the extra meeting space, the project will also provide a separate bar/lounge area that sports users can enjoy alongside community bookings such as weddings, christenings and parties.

One of the benefits to expanding the facilities will be the increased capacity for the local youth club. Currently, the club is restricted on numbers and storage meaning that it cannot meet demand from Gorefield and surrounding villages, which this extension will address.

The Cambridgeshire Communities Capital Fund was launched on April 1 this year, and sets aside up to £5m to support community projects across the county. The fund is also to support community-led projects to improve health, wellbeing, social and economic opportunities in our communities.

A town park is also set for improvements thanks to the fund after the committee agreed to give £75,000 worth of funding to a bid by Fenland District Council.

The district council wants to improve four sections of West End Park, March. The first is to improve the route surface for the very popular March Park Run, which attracts over 100 runners every week, with a new junior run to follow.

Work will be carried out to create a hard surface for low-lying parts of the route to safeguard events in wet conditions, which have in the past caused the run to be cancelled.

The second aim is to create a permanent tarmac path from the park entrance to the bandstand, which is currently accessed across grass, making it difficult for those with mobility issues.

A third enhancement will see the number of pieces of play equipment in the junior play area more than doubled from nine to 20, to make it more suitable for the size of the town.

Finally the money will be used to provide fencing to the recently upgraded skate park. T

The report to Thursday's meeting said: "West End Park is a community hub, popular throughout the town. The four projects will have wide community appeal and generate significant increased usage within the park.

Match funding of £10,000 will be provided between Fenland District and March Town Councils.

Christchurch Community Centre has been given £15,000 towards the installation of a covered patio area. This will increase the capacity of the hall in the summer, by providing a waterproof seating area, making the building more attractive to summer bookings and improving the financial viability. The covering will allow for outdoor electrical items to be used, such as PA systems and will serve as an outdoor classroom for the local primary school. Match funding of £7,500 will come from the community centre to support the project.

Councillor Steve Criswell, chairman of cambridgeshire county council's communities and partnership committee, said: “I am delighted that the committee has approved grants for these vital and deserving schemes. I hope the money will make a considerable difference to the excellent projects which the communities of Cambridgeshire are delivering for the benefit of their residents.”

Cambridgeshire Communities Capital Fund may contribute up to £500,000 capital funding for projects which can address issues which are a specific priority for the local community, address inequality of access to services or activities, and implement community involvement in delivery or design of the project.

Since the fund was launched, 63 applications have been received, of which 29 have been approved – including the 16 agreed by the Communities and Partnership Committee this week. Just over £4m will have been allocated in total – nearly £3m of that by this week’s committee.

Previous Fenland projects to receive funding were Estover Playing Field, £35,000; The Tower Hall, Friday Bridge, £36,000 and March Rugby Club, £234,000.

Read more: Wisbech Market Place £200,000 scheme gets go-ahead