Kimpton Parish Council have been awarded £62,000 from the Government’s Community Ownership Fund, for a project to re-develop a pavilion on Kimpton Recreation Ground.
The project will transform the pavilion into a vibrant community asset, with a fitness studio, changing rooms, accessible toilets and potential for a café. The Parish Council previously received a £1,000 grant from the District Council’s Southern Rural Area Forum, but this new funding will now go a long way towards delivering the Council’s vision.
The Parish Council’s bid for funding was strongly championed in Westminster by Kimpton’s Member of Parliament Bim Afolami MP. Mr Afolami wrote a letter to the Secretary of State, Michael Gove, in which he said that the plans would “bring new life and a new community benefit to this dilapidated facility” and commended it as “exactly the kind of project for which the Community Ownership Fund was intended”.
Speaking after receiving news that the funding bid had been successful, Bim Afolami MP said,
“It is absolutely brilliant news for everyone in Kimpton that we’ve been able to secure this funding to renovate the pavilion on the Recreation Ground. This is levelling up in action – and it is fantastic that the Government have seen the potential that this project can have to really deliver for people in Kimpton. Kimpton Parish Council can be very proud of the hard work that they have put in to produce a really strong bid for funding.
“I look forward to seeing the re-developed pavilion once it is delivered!”
Kimpton’s District Councillor Ralph Muncer said,
“I’m delighted the Government has awarded Kimpton Parish Council a sizeable grant towards the costs of refurbishing the pavilion, which has been in a state of disrepair for a number of years. The Government’s Levelling Up policy is all about supporting our communities, and I know this funding will be key to ensuring the pavilion can once again be used as a hub for our vibrant community in Kimpton.”
