Skate park and medieval church among projects to receive £295k boost

A brand-new skate park for Brantham and a project to futureproof Great Cornard’s medieval church to support community needs are each to receive a £100k boost from Babergh District Council.

Brantham Parish Council’s plans to install a purpose-built skate park for youngsters and the wider local community took a major step forward yesterday (Tuesday, March 10), after Babergh District Council voted to include the scheme in the latest round of successful Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) awards.

The project has already undergone extensive consultation and aims to create an accessible and inclusive place for skateboarding, BMX riding, scooter riding and rollerblading.

The funding would cover the majority of the project’s total cost, with the remainder coming from the National Lottery and the local parish councils.

Also set to receive £100k is a project to upgrade St Andrew’s Church, in Great Cornard (pictured above).

The Grade I listed building is set to undergo essential infrastructure improvements to ensure the church can be an accessible and welcoming hub for the local community while keeping its heritage intact.

Both projects were among yesterday’s successful bids for District CIL funding, with a total of almost £297k set to be reinvested into Babergh communities, thanks to developer contributions.

It is a legal requirement for developers of eligible sites to pay CIL to the council.

Bids made for CIL funding are then regularly reviewed by the council, with money reinvested in local infrastructure, helping communities to keep pace with the impacts of housing growth.

Also, amongst the successful bids was £85k for Burstall Memorial Hall to help extend the kitchen as part of a wider upgrade and improvement of facilities, and delegated approval was noted for a further award of just under £11.8k for the installation of solar panels, including on site battery storage, at East Bergholt Sports Pavillion.

Sallie Davies, the council’s 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.

“I am looking forward to seeing these projects take shape and I hope that the local community makes use of them for years to come.”