Ambitious football club relocation among projects to get cash

Eight open space projects in North Devon, including one for an ambitious football club relocation, are getting a share of £358,000

The money comes from North Devon Council’s section 106 pot, which is the payment developers make when they get planning consent for homes.

South Molton Football Club will receive £178,292 towards the cost of new pitches and clubhouse facilities at its new home at Limers Lane, which the council paid for with £230,000 from the same pot.

The club currently operates from a single pitch at Alswear Old Road but has outgrown the site as it now has almost 200 members. It hopes to sell this for housing and is working on a bid for Premier League funding with the Football Foundation to help fund the £2.65 million project.

It will have two full size pitches, two junior pitches, car park, a running trail and fitness facilities for running group South Molton Stranglers, and a clubhouse. It has been identified as a priority project in North Devon Council‘s playing pitch strategy and the local authority expects to give it more funds to make up a £1 million shortfall.

Other grants will go to South Molton Town Council for play equipment in Central Park (£60,000 towards a total cost of £70,000), a skate park (£33,680) and £20,000 for a BMX track in woodland on Parsonage Lane (total cost is £30,000).

Barnstaple Rugby Football Club will receive £41,137 towards refurbishing an old cricket pavilion to provide changing facilities for 100 female players it aims to cater for. The total project cost is £76,000.

Tawstock Village Hall will get £13,788 for battery storage units for its recently installed solar panels, which were funded by the council to the tune of £16,000.

A sum of £9,621 will go to South Molton Bowls Club towards solar panels on its pavilion (total cost £12,000) and £1,500 goes to United Services Bowls Club in Barnstaple to help complete its pavilion refurbishment.

The United Services Bowls Club ‘s £200,000 revamp project will cater for increased demand and add indoor bowls for winter activity. The council has so far put £40,000 of section 106 funding towards the refurbishment.

Cllr Malcolm Prowse (Ind, Bratton Fleming) told the council’s strategy and resource committee, which approved the grants, that he would like to see some section 106 money for public open space projects go to pre-schools in the future as it is hard for them to find funding.