Multi million pound Torridge sports hub asks for £100,000 loan to complete work

A £100,000 loan to complete a village hall and community cafe project for a sports centre in Bideford is likely to be agreed by Torridge district councillors next week.

The money will help pay for phase six of new facilities at the Atlantic Racquet Centre (ARC) which is a ‘highly valued sporting and community asset’ based at Caddesdown and used by more than 5,500 people a week.

Members of the Torridge District Council’s (TDC) community and resources committee unanimously supported the request recently, but final approval needs to be given by the full council.

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Lead member for leisure on the authority, Councillor Lyndon Piper, called ARC ‘an exemplar organisation with a proven track record’.

He said: “Enabling the completion of the facility will strengthen the community offering and the organisation’s financial sustainability.”

TDC previously agreed a £100,000 loan for the centre in 2021 which is being paid back at £10,000 a year.

ARC trustees are currently awaiting a £100,000 grant from a pot of developers’ cash secured for the community when the Daddon Hill mixed use scheme was given planning permission. The money will be released once a certain amount of homes are built and can help pay back the loan.

Since 2015 when ARC opened it has grown to include 10 tennis courts, four badminton courts, 10 table tennis tables, two squash courts, two fitness studios, a gym, bar and cafeteria, changing rooms, toilets, office and car park.

An application for £300,000 was made to the Community Regeneration Partnership process (formerly Levelling Up Partnership) to complete the final phase of works – a community hub and learning space – but it was unsuccessful.

In a letter to the council, ARC trustee David Vinall said the community hub would feature a multi-use hall and community café

He wrote: “The hall will be a large space that is designed to facilitate a broad range of activities including group exercise classes, martial arts, dance and drama, arts and crafts, bowls, social events, conferences and much more. 

“This will both complement our current offering and encourage more of the community to access our facilities.”

READ MORE: Racquet centre aims to create a vibrant community hub with new café and multi-use hall

The community café would serve as a healthy living focused eatery, providing affordable educational opportunities around nutrition, healthy eating and cooking on a budget, he said, with courses and events held in the adjacent new hall.

Training opportunities and work placements for disadvantaged local people would also be offered at the cafe, including those with physical and learning disabilities, long term unemployed and those unable to access mainstream education. 

“We anticipate attracting in the region of 750 to 1,000 new local people on a weekly basis to improve their nutrition, physical and mental health,” added Mr Vinall.

“It will also provide regular opportunities for improved social and community cohesion.”

He said the trustees had raised £3.8million to date, but the “current environment is extremely difficult if not almost impossible for raising funds for capital projects.”

An additional loan from Torridge would extend the payback period to 2042.

“We do not feel at this stage that we have the capacity to increase our annual re-payment level above £10,000 because we cannot substantially generate additional profit from our current activities without compromising our charitable aims to keep our facilities affordable and accessible for our whole community within Torridge,” Mr Vinall said.

“The completion of phase 6 is extremely important to our sustainability and continuation of our activities for the community.”

Cllr Simon Inch said at the meeting: “I totally support this application for a loan application. The racquet centre are doing good things for the local community. When they told me that 5,500 members of community make use of the centre every week I was astonished.

“The facility that needs to be completed will be a great addition to the community especially in my ward as there are very limited spaces for public events to be held.

“Their past record of paying back the previous loan amount has been first class.”

The interest rate will be charged in line with Public Loan Board rates, if the loan is approved at the full council meeting next Monday (July 28).