Exciting developments at Crowmarsh Recreation Ground

Dear residents, please bear with us as we begin redeveloping the pavilion and its environs.  The plan is to create new public toilets, a new food servery with hatch opening onto an outdoor mezzanine table area and a new internal meeting room, which is also linked to the servery . The project will help utilise the Pavilion existing plan area, which includes 2 unused changing areas and increase the facilities offered.  The new disabled public toilet will be served by a redesigned gentle sloped ramp.  Additional items will include outdoor table tennis and additional planting.  This project got the go ahead thanks to the Parish Council Environment and Recreation Committee winning approx. £140,000 in external funding from the SODC capital grants (where it came first in all the grant applications to South Oxfordshire) and the FCC Communities Foundation (£67,238, a not-for-profit business that awards grants for community projects through the Landfill Communities Fund) which together with £75,000 from the Parish Council, meant the funding for all the project has been achieved.  David Rowley led the bids with help from the Environment & Recreation Committee with Sue Rance negotiating the arduous online applications. The timings of the grants have helped take account of increasing material prices and allow for a new ramp for disabled access.  These followed an almost 2-year design and development period supported by architect Michael Simpson.  This is probably the most complex project the Parish Council has undertaken in the past 30 years (remember we are all volunteers).  It will build on the success of the new play area to ensure the residents of Crowmarsh have facilities second to none.  All being well we will finish in November 2022.

Andrew Johnson