Elmswell, Debenham, Rickinghall and Framsden get £118,000 cash injection for variety of improvements

The villages of Elmswell, Debenham, Rickinghall and Framsden have had an injection of £118,000 this week for community centre improvements and sports facilities.

The money has come from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) which is collected from developers when they build new homes in Mid Suffolk.

Councillors considered bids from the latest CIL funding round at this yesterday’s (Monday, October 4) Cabinet meeting, with unanimous agreement reached on proposals to contribute £59,994 towards improvements to Debenham Community Centre.

The venue hosts drama, music and fitness classes, a range of other community activities and, more recently, being used to help in the Covid-19 vaccination effort.

CIL funding will help its planned refurbishment, with councillors giving the green light for funding to provide new natural lighting and improve insulation to meet modern environmental standards. It will also fund better ventilation for the centre, in recognition that this is vital in protecting service users from Covid-19 and other viruses.

An allocation of £19,500 will go towards providing roof lights and blackout blinds to improve ventilation in Chamberlayne Hall at Blackbourne Community Centre, in Elmswell, which seats up to 150 people and is used by community groups across Mid Suffolk.

The improved system will provide confidence to users that the venue is Covid secure, even in winter months, and reduce energy requirements and maintenance costs.

Improvements are also set to be made to infrastructure in Rickinghall, with CIL funding of £20,148 towards the provision of an all wheel sports area given the go-ahead today.

This will allow the replacement of the existing wheeled sports facility with enhanced equipment, including a redesigned skating ramp, to better suit the needs of service users.

Once completed, the area will be able to accommodate scooters, skateboarders, in-line skaters and BMXs.

Funding for the provision of play equipment in Framsden was also approved with £18,789 to help finance a new play swing, slide, climbing frame, roundabout and basketball and football goal area. The project also includes a new entrance gate – securing improved access for pushchair and wheelchair users.

David Burn, Mid Suffolk District Council cabinet member for Planning, said: “I am delighted that this latest round of CIL funding will benefit a range of local projects and provide the facilities needed to help keep pace with future growth. It’s great news that two of the bids are set to reduce carbon emissions – protecting our local environment and supporting our council’s ongoing ambition to address climate change as we all work towards a greener Suffolk.”

District CIL is income retained by the district council to spend on infrastructure to support development. This money must be applied for and the decision to spend significant amounts has to be taken by Cabinet.

The latest CIL round is currently open for bids and further information on this and how CIL works can be found on the council’s website, with details about how the levy has been allocated available on the council’s award-winning Developer Contributions Database.