New skate park and church upgrade to share £200k

10 hours ago

Ben ParkerSuffolk

News image — A computer-generated image of what the proposed skate park could look like

Brantham Parish Council A digital image of a skate park, there are ramps around the outside of the mostly grey bowl. Some seating is on the lower left. The structure is surrounded by green grass. Several people are in various positions around the park. — A computer-generated image of what the proposed skate park could look like

A council has agreed to provide a total of £295,000 for four community projects in Suffolk.

A skate park in Brantham and Great Cornard's medieval church will each receive £100,000, with £85,000 going to Burstall Memorial Hall to help extend the kitchen.

Babergh District Council said the money came from the community infrastructure levy (CIL), where developers paid towards local infrastructure.

Nearly £12,000 will go towards the installation of solar panels, including on-site battery storage, at East Bergholt Sports Pavilion.

Brantham Parish Council said it needed to raise £15,000 more to reach the total cost of £200,000 for the skate park and hoped construction could start in the summer and be completed in the winter.

A public fundraiser has been started to try and reach the remaining total, which will be match-funded by Sport England.

Babergh District Council St Andrew’s Church in Great Cornard, gravestones and trees can be seen in the foreground, the church is in the middle of the image with a brown slated roof and tall dark spire. The walls have light stonework. — St Andrew's Church in Great Cornard will be receiving £100,000

The funding for St Andrew's Church in Great Cornard is going towards infrastructure improvements on the Grade I listed building.

The council said it would "ensure the church can be an accessible and welcoming hub for the local community while keeping its heritage intact".

Sallie Davies, cabinet member for heritage planning and infrastructure, said: "It's always great to see CIL funding go through, but this is a particularly exciting round of bids with some fantastic community projects set to benefit.

"CIL funding is really important to ensure that local infrastructure can grow at the same rate as housing develops to meet the demands of new communities."

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