Work starts on much-needed £800k Pavilion in the Park
WORK has started today on Ashbourne’s £830,000 Pavilion in the Park project in Ashbourne Recreation Ground.
Demolition of the existing pavilion building is set to start on Monday and Ashbourne-based family-run firm Enrok Construction Limited will be managing the entire project on behalf of the volunteer-run Ashbourne Recreation Ground Sports and Community Partnership, which brought it to fruition.
At the end of August last year Derbyshire Dales District Council, which owns and operates the recreation ground, unanimously approved the lease of almost half an acre of land to the partnership, which is a registered charity.
The district council is contributing match-funding of up to £325,000 towards the project, and then spending a further £42,000 on improvements to the park’s three football pitches.
Having secured funding of £500,000 million from the English and Welsh Cricket Board and the Football Foundation, the partnership is continuing to work on applications for further external funding. It is hoped the project will be completed by the autumn.
District council leader Garry Purdy said: “This is terrific progress on a great project.
“Other funding applications are still pending, but, thanks to a considerable amount of work completed in a tight timescale by all parties involved with the project, we are pleased to see works start to take place on site to bring this exciting project to life.
“Over the Christmas period some preparatory works took place on site to relocate a high-voltage cable away from the proposed development and to remove all items of historical value, including the memorial plaque for safe storage whilst the project takes place.
“Our Clean and Green team have also been working hard to clear out the Green Pavilion in readiness for their imminent relocation into the new mess room facilities created in the former toilet block between the Memorial Gardens and the Recreation Ground.
“Works have taken place here to provide a modern mess room area with heating, LED lighting, kitchen and toilet facilities to support our workforce in the excellent work they do maintaining the park and Recreation Ground.”
The authority has warned that the project will cause “some disruption” in the Cokayne Avenue car park, with the loss of a limited number of spaces to accommodate the site compound.