Community projects receive £430k boost from developer contributions

Play areas, village halls, a bridleway and community spaces across the heart of Suffolk are set to benefit from a share of £430k following the latest awards Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) awards by Mid Suffolk District Council.

CIL payments, which are legally required from developers of residential sites across the district, are redistributed by the council to help local facilities keep pace with housing growth.

In the latest round of funding, £100k has been awarded to Tostock Village Hall for the first phase of a wider building improvement project.

Together with a further community development grant of £20k from Mid Suffolk District Council and additional funding from Tostock Parish Council, the award will allow initial works to take place to extend the existing hall with new windows, doors, and flooring.

Other successful bids include £37.5k for St Nicholas Church, in Bedfield, to install a new accessible and composting toilet, and £10.5k for the Akenham and Henley Bridleway improvement project.

A number of Stowmarket projects are also to receive a share of the funds.

More than £143.5k has been allocated to the Creeting Road “Big Park” (pictured above) to update play equipment and ensure it is inclusive for people of all ages.

A further £100k was awarded to the Old Fire Station Community Space project – transforming the town’s former fire station, on Lockington Road, into a new venue for community activities, and £100k also for the John Peel Centre for Creative Arts CIC to fund the addition of a lift and associated accessibility works at the town centre venue.

Bids for CIL funding are regularly reviewed by cabinet so that money can be ploughed back into local infrastructure.

Andrew Stringer, the council’s cabinet member for Heritage Planning and Infrastructure, said: “This round of CIL funding is jam-packed with fantastic projects and I am pleased to see local groups making use of available funding to provide much-needed upgrades to community facilities. It’s critical that we ensure that local facilities can keep pace with housing growth and aren’t left behind.”