Funds secured for sport and leisure facilities

Popular sports facilities and public open spaces in Stoke Gifford and Little Stoke are to receive a boost of more than £230,000 in developer funding.

Of the sum awarded by South Gloucestershire Council’s Conservative-run Cabinet in July, £172,000 will be invested into Little Stoke Park and playing field for pitch enhancements and changing room improvements, as well as upgrades to the cricket nets and tennis court at the Trust Ground on North Road.

This follows an initial £13,000 of S106 funding, which was awarded to the playing field last year last year from the Filton Airfield development.

A further £59,000 is also being awarded for toddler play equipment at New Road in Stoke Gifford, following the receipt of wayleave from Network Rail.

Section 106 funding is raised through contributions from developers in negotiation with South Gloucestershire Council and is used to support open space infrastructure that would benefit the new residents and those in existing communities nearby.

Welcoming the funding were Stoke Gifford’s three district ward councillors, Brian Allinson, Ernie Brown and Keith Cranney.

Cllr Allinson said:

“This is great news for our community. South Gloucestershire Council’s Conservative administration has prioritised our public places as one of its main focuses and we are pleased that residents will soon be able to enjoy these enhancements.”

Cllr Brown added:

“It is important that we provide facilities to enable local residents of all ages to remain active, so we are very happy to see this funding will be put to good use by improving the park and playing field. We hope it will result in encouraging participation in a mixture of team and individual activities, which are already tremendously popular on the playing field.”

Cllr Cranney said:

“We are really lucky to have fantastic sporting facilities in Little Stoke and having this money to maintain and improve the playing field and changing rooms, at the as well as the cricket nets and tennis courts at the Trust Ground, will mean they can continue being enjoyed by people of all ages for years to come.”

Photo (l-r): Cllrs Brian Allinson, Ernie Brown and Keith Cranney in Little Stoke Park.

This article originally appeared in the September 2019 issue of the Stoke Gifford Journal magazine (on page 21). The magazine is delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to over 5,000 homes in Stoke Gifford, Little Stoke and Harry Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.