East Leake
PAVILION PROJECT. Good progress is being made on the ambitious over-£950,000 scheme at East Leake for the re-build of the existing Costock road sports pavilion.
East Leake Parish Council together with the East Leake Playing Fields Charity are thrilled to confirm that they have been awarded a grant from the Premier League, The Football Association and UK Government via The Football Foundation towards the much-needed rebuild of the Pavilion.
Funding for the longawaited project has also been received through contributions from developers of the large scale housing that has and is taking place in the village.
But despite this there is a shortfall in funds and fundraising will be taking place over the next few months to raise cash which will fund the important provision of the internal fixtures and fittings. For this aspect of the scheme, the village Playing Fields Charity have launched a “Buy a Brick’ scheme allowing sponsors to make a contribution in a very special way.
By sponsoring the charity through buying a brick for £40, those concerned will be helping to build a future important provision for the village.
In a joint statement from the two local bodies, they say many people have enjoyed playing sport at the Costock Road facility over the years and what better way to share happy memories of the past and their support for the future generations of East Leake players than a brick with a loved one’s name or a family’s name on it.
Those responsible for the East Leake project have successfully applied for £376,000 from the Premier League, the Football Association and Government, via the Football Foundation for cash towards the overall scheme which is expected to be going to cost in the region of £970,00 to build and furbish.
East Leake has grown rapidly. More than 1,000 new homes have been built in recent years, taking the population to approximately 8,000. This has happened so fast, that the village’s infrastructure hasn’t kept up. There’s a pressing need to ensure that the village has the right amenities to meet its sport, leisure and community needs.
The Costock Road Playing Fields cover sixteen acres of land on the eastern edge of East Leake. They’re a fantastic facility, hosting the village’s main sports teams. Over the decades, they’ve been used by many thousands of children and adults for football, rugby and cricket. The site’s current building was constructed in the 1970’s to provide shower and changing facilities for users of the sports pitches, as well as some space for social activities.
Known locally as the “Pavilion”, the building is partly on two floors and partly single-storey. Unfortunately, it’s now in a poor state of repair and doesn’t meet modern environmental standards – particularly on energy conservation. In cold weather, the heating has to be left on permanently to ensure the pipes don’t freeze. As a result, the Pavilion is very expensive to run. Its current layout also limits how it can be used for social and community events.
Since 1996, management of the entire site has rested with the East Leake Playing Fields Charity (ELPFC), which was set up for that purpose. The charity owns the original five-acre sports ground and leases the rest from East Leake Parish Council. Over the years, significant sums have been invested as part of efforts to extend the life of the existing Pavilion.
However, both ELPFC and the Parish Council believe that fully replacing it with a new Pavilion is the best way of creating a facility which will meet the future needs of East
Leake.
Since 2000, The Football Foundation has supported grassroots projects worth more than £1.3bn, investing into areas where the need is greatest and where it will have the biggest impact in terms of getting more people playing football and a wide range of other sports.
East Leake Playing Fields charity is contributing £25,000 towards costs of the project.
Some of the large housing developments in the village have entered into legal obligations to provide contributions towards local sports playing fields. The funds are held by Rushcliffe Borough Council until they can be claimed for a suitable approved project such as the pavilion. In the East Leake case this could mean a sum of £286,000 towards the goal.
The Parish Council has already paid around £33,000 towards project costs.
There is still a potential funding gap of over £200,000, for which the Parish Council is pursuing other funding options. Should the need arise, it may be possible for the Council to underwrite the project through a public works loan but this would be a last resort which they are keen to avoid!
Work commenced at the start of this month with the disconnection of the electricity to the building with demolition will follow. The re-build is scheduled to take approximately six months.
Since the pavilion fund opened, it has been supported by various village means, including such as cash from the annual Christmas Fair and Lights Switch On, Open Gardens and Scarecrow Trail, village Christmas Fair, Quorn Country Crafts Exhibition, village Bra Walk, East Leake Open Gardens, village dog show, East Leake Beer Festival, and village Quiz.
The East Leake Playing Field Charity.is a non profit making organisation that provides sport and leisure facilicties for the East Leake community and currently host Archery, Cricket, Dog training, Girl Guides, Football and Rugby.
“We are looking to expand into other sports and leisure activities but unfortunately our current building is not fit for purpose. This detracts from the experience clubs get when they use our facilities. It also limits our ability to host indoor activities. We are therefore raising funds to replace our dilapidated pavilion with a new building that will enhance the sports and leisure facilities for all of our users and expand the range of activities we can offer so that all can take part.”
The existing building, known locally as the “Pavilion”, is partly on two floors and partly single-storey. Unfortunately, it’s now in a poor state of repair and doesn’t meet modern environmental standards – particularly on energy conservation. In cold weather, the heating has to be left on permanently to ensure the pipes don’t freeze. As a result, the Pavilion is very expensive to run. Its current layout also limits how it can be used for social and community events.
Since 1996, management of the entire site has rested with the East Leake Playing Fields Charity (ELPFC), which was set up for that purpose. The charity owns the original five-acre sports ground and leases the rest from East Leake Parish Council. Over the years, significant sums have been invested as part of efforts to extend the life of the existing Pavilion.
However, both ELPFC and the Parish Council believe that fully replacing it with a new Pavilion is the best way of creating a facility which will meet the future needs of East Leake.
FACEMASKS AT CHURCH. Face masks now need to be worn throughout services at St. Mary’s Parish Church in East Leake.
Exceptions include when reading or leading from the front or singing as part of the choir or music group.
Under 11 year olds and adults who are unable to wear a mask are also exempt.
Church leaders have told parishioners that it is strongly recommended that people use the hand sanitiser when entering and leaving the church building.
BROOKSIDE. East Leakes Brookside School have started the new term with the knowledge autumn one been a tremendous success for the children and had offered so many opportunities to be immensely proud of them and for the school as a whole, says headmaster Garry Kenny.
In a message in his school newsletter, Mr Kneny adds: “It has been challenging, too – not least during recent weeks when what was termed a Covid ‘outbreak’ occurred which impacted many of our children, parents and members of staff. Our staff team has been remarkable and has managed to keep the school diary as eventful and enjoyable as imaginable in the run up to Christmas – while also achieving extraordinary feats within the classroom.
The head has offered thanks to the entirety of the Brookside team.” To all of our families that were impacted during recent weeks – or at any other time – I hope all things are well with you. It has been joyful seeing children return to school after their periods of isolation. It was joyful for me, too, when I was able to return after my 10 days away from the heart of our school. Christmas felt as though it had arrived early!”
MEADOW PARK. The Friends of Meadow Park group at East Leake are looking for entries for a competition they are supporting in a local initiative to encourage hedgehogs in its area.
They have given details on a competition to design a logo for the Facebook page of East Leake Hedgehogs who say they are currently in the process of starting to create hedgehog friendly access points between local gardens. For people who are interested in joining the scheme it will involve creating small hedgehog entrances at the bottom of fences and concrete fence bases. This will enable the hedgehog populations to interconnect and thrive much more effectively.
Hedgehog populations across the UK are sadly in steep decline and numbers have fallen by up to 30% in urban areas and by 50% in rural areas since the Millennium and they are now listed as “vulnerable” on Britain’s red list of mammals.
The village group have a Facebook page “East Leake Hedgehogs” set up and run by Holly L Gibson Dance, and say they would really likeanyone in the village help them design a logo for “East Leake Hedgehog Highways”
The prize is a lovely “Gap Surround” gifted to them by “Wild Things: Keyworth”
Those willing to support the competition are asked to send their logo to us either as a jpeg or on a word document