Howzat! Council grant helps fund new cricket pavilion for Branscombe

Branscombe looks set to get a new cricket pavilion, after being awarded a £3,000 grant from East Devon District Council.

The pavilion will be used by Branscombe Ravens Cricket Club, but will also be available to community groups and the local primary school.

The cricket club had applied for £5,000, but since the district council will not contribute the whole amount, the remaining cost of the project will be underwritten by some of the club's members.

Speaking on behalf of the club, Graeme Shorthouse said: "Our proposal to build a new sports pavilion in Branscombe will provide a much-needed smaller community facility within the village.

"The benefits of the social side of the sport cannot be overlooked. Sport brings people with a common interest and passion together and provides a regular opportunity for the community to get together.

"The heart of this project is therefore not the facilities that allow sport to happen, but the venue itself that would allow participants to socialise on a weekly basis. To a community as dispersed as Branscombe, such a facility is much needed."

Geoff Pook, an independent councillor for Beer and Branscombe, said it was a worthy project, popular within the local community.

Councillor Jess Bailey (Independent, West Hill and Aylesbeare) also supported the grant, saying it's particularly important to provide schools with outside space.

The council's cash will be handed over subject to the cricket club being granted planning permission for the pavilion – which will also be decided by the district council. The grant will come from the council's community buildings fund, which supports village halls and community shops and buildings in rural parts of the district overseen by local parish councils.