Euro funds move for £5m sports village
AN AGREEMENT has been made to seek European funding towards the first phase of a major £5m sports village scheme in Hambleton.
The Sowerby Sports Village, which has been in the planning since 2014, is part of the district’s Gateway scheme which outlines hopes for retail, leisure and employment land. A masterplan has been created, with provision for football and rugby pitches, a pavilion, allotments and BMX tracks, but the development is dependent on external funding.
Now, district councillors in Hambleton, as well as agreeing a phased approach towards development, are set to approach the European Regional Development Fund with a bid for £643,000.
This would be towards the first phase of development in 2018/19, for land remediation, allotments, fitness trail and landscaping.
“This scheme is integral to the overall development at Sowerby Gateway and brings with it an exciting – and extensive – array of formal and informal recreation provision,” said cabinet member Coun Bridget Fortune. “The council is providing community leadership for the scheme and has brought together a host of organisations to deliver it – once complete we will hand it over to the local community.”
The Gateway scheme will create 920 new homes in the village, 173 of which are already built and occupied.
Developers contribution, to be released once 250 homes are built, will be £1.5m, while the council hopes further phases will benefit from grants from the Football Foundation, Rugby Union Football and Sport England.