Community projects receive cash boost

A community-run arts centre, recycling centre and village hall projects are all set to receive a share of more than £110k following the latest Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) awards by Mid Suffolk District Council.

CIL payments, are legally required from developers of residential sites across the district.

Once received, they are redistributed by the council to help local facilities keep pace with housing growth.

In the latest round of funding, The Bank Arts Centre, in Eye, is set to benefit from just under £45k to go towards the final phase of a redevelopment project which includes reconfiguring of the toilets to ensure they are accessible and to the upstairs workshop area to make it a more flexible and usable space.

Suffolk County Council’s recycling centre on Old Bury Road, in Stowmarket, is also benefitting from this round of funding with £38k being approved to go towards work to improve and expand the site.

Cabinet members also noted a bid from Tostock Village Hall for a project to increase parking provision and agreed to an extension for the Woolpit and Elmswell footway and cycleway project which was previously approved by cabinet but needed additional time to complete the project.

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

Andrew Stringer, the cabinet member for Heritage Planning and Infrastructure at the council, said: “It’s great to approve the latest round of CIL bids.

“As the demand for housing grows, it is so important that local infrastructure is able to grow at the same rate and that’s where CIL funding comes in.

“By funding these projects across the district, we are playing our part in ensuring that the local infrastructure is able to meet the ever-growing demands placed upon it.”