£250,000 put towards plan for new sports and wellbeing centre in Stowmarket
It would go on land surrounding Stowmarket High School and Chilton Fields
A planned sports and wellbeing hub in Stowmarket will get £250,000 to draw up designs and a planning application.
Mid Suffolk District Council’s cabinet approved the spending on Stowmarket’s health, education and leisure facilities (SHELF) scheme in a unanimous vote.
Cllr Harry Richardson, deputy council leader and cabinet member for economic growth, said: “Feedback on the scheme from stakeholders and residents has been overwhelmingly supportive.
“We are anticipating that we will obtain planning permission by June or July, with the council being asked to approve a detailed funding strategy later this year.”
Feedback on the early proposals from residents, students, community groups and sports clubs included over 200 written comments; 79 per cent of all respondents and 70 per cent of Stowmarket resident respondents were supportive of the proposals.
A further consultation will be carried out as part of the planning application.
The site will encompass two bits of land in the northwest of Stowmarket – surrounding Stowmarket High School and Chilton Fields.
The SHELF hub is expected to include a sports pavilion, two multi-use games areas, four indoor sports courts, a wellbeing site, a 3G football pitch, a mini athletics track and a children’s play area.
Green Cllr Keith Welham said: “I welcome this project. Mid Suffolk needs a facility like this.
“My one concern all along has been about sustainable transport. Will there be discussions about providing sustainable transport to and from the site?”
Officers explained that a sustainable travel strategy has already been started, and Cllr Richardson stated this work would continue as part of the planning application process.
The meeting yesterday also saw the approval of a decision to pause a rural low-carbon bus scheme, for which the Green Party put forward a budget amendment this time last year.
The amendment was approved last year, but the cabinet agreed yesterday there was not enough information from similar schemes elsewhere to begin operating the buses in Mid Suffolk now.
Before the meeting, Green Party Cllr Andrew Mellen called the proposed halt “disappointing” and said, “People out in the villages are crying out for a decent bus service now.”
The next steps for the council will include drawing up a planning application and a full business case – including a final draft cost plan, a proposed management model and a detailed funding strategy.
The decision to progress an initial SHELF scheme proposal was approved by Mid Suffolk District Council in June last year.