Work gets under way on £300k sports pavilion
WORK is now officially under way on an £850,000 community-led project to transform the town’s sporting facilities.
A new “Pavilion in the Park” will start to appear in the coming weeks and months, as demolition work begins on the Cokayne Avenue-based Memorial Pavilion.
The demolition was due to start earlier, but it was delayed slightly by the extreme weather conditions as the arrival of Storm Christoph was followed by heavy snow at the weekend. Ashbournebased familyrun firm Enrok Construction has been signed up to carry out the work, which will be paid for with a series of grants and fund-raising efforts by the Ashbourne Sports and Community Partnership.
The volunteer-run partnership has secured more than £600,000 in external funding, including a new £25,000 grant from the Garfield Weston Foundation Trust, which should arrive this month.
A further funding application for improvements to the surrounding sports pitches will be submitted in the next month, rounding off the wider scheme to provide top-notch playing and training facilities for the town’s various sports club.
David Wood, secretary of the Ashbourne Sports and Community Partnership said: “It’s great to be able to announce that the works on the new pavilion at the Recreation Ground have now started.
“Internal demolition was completed last week and the external demolition began on Tuesday January 26, so the first visible sign of work taking place.
“By the end of the week all demolition will be complete leaving the site free for work on the foundations to begin.”
Derbyshire Dales District Council, which is providing a lease for the land and will be pouring more than £350,000 into the project, says motorists should expect some disruption in the adjacent car park.
The authority has warned that the project will result in the loss of a limited number of spaces to accommodate the site compound, while the construction work is underway.
It is hoped the pavilion could be up and running and ready to use by September this year.
By the end of the week all demolition will be complete, leaving the site free
David Wood