New Sports Pavilion

 

The existing pavilion was built in 1930 in wood and is now in a state of poor repair, with extensive rot in the wooden fabric of the building.  It does not meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act., and it is not possible to upgrade the building to achieve conformance. There are limited storage facilities and it does not meet the Football Association recommendations for separate changing facilities for the teams and match officials.  The pavilion is the oldest in Hope Valley and provides the poorest facilities, which limits both the ability to expand recreation provision for the village, and its utility and attractiveness to other organisations.

 

Plans for the new pavilion will be put to the Peak Park Planning Authorities in the very near future and a project group has been established to take forward the planning, and to oversee raising the funding required to build the pavilion.

 

The new pavilion will support three main types of activity:

 

¶     Sports, in particular football and use by Bamford Primary School

¶     Community events including the Sheepdog Trials, Carnival and the Vintage Car Rally

¶     Ecology. Preserving, enhancing and promoting a greater awareness of the ecological heritage

 

Here are a few of the questions that have arisen in relation to this project: 

 

What facilities will the building have?

 

The new pavilion will contain:

Ø      2 sets of changing rooms, showers and toilets

Ø      Separate changing room, shower and toilet for match officials

Ø      A disabled toilet

Ø      Kitchen

Ø      A meeting room for use for sports coaching, community activities etc.

Ø      2 secure storage areas, one for use by the recreation ground and one for use by Bamford Primary School 

Ø      An external toilet, available for users of the children’s playground, etc.

 

The above are based on the drawings used in connection with the planning application and have not yet been completed.

 

How will the finance be raised to build it?

 

The money will come from a number of sources. It is hoped that the majority will be via grants, but there will be some funds that need to be raised by Bamford with Thornhill Recreation Ground Trust.

 

What about the running costs?

 

Based on similar existing buildings, a detailed analysis of the expected running costs has been undertaken.  An analysis of projected income has also been carried out. It is anticipated that an extra £2,000 p.a. will be required. It is expected that much of this will come from a couple of large events.

 

Bamford doesn’t need another meeting room, won’t it take custom away from the existing meeting rooms?

 

Meeting rooms are not something that Bamford is short of, and given the location is unlikely to be used in the same way as the Bamford Village Institute and Moore Memorial Hall.  The Recreation Ground Trustees are keen that the new building does not take custom away from the existing facilities and in fact the meeting room may be quite small and is likely to be used for serving refreshments at events.

  

Will we have caravans on the Recreation Ground every weekend to pay for the building?

 

The Peak Park Authority governs the number of caravan rallies allowed at any venue in the Park in any one year.  It is not anticipated that the Authority will allow any more rallies than usual.

 

Why can’t we do up the existing building?

 

·        The pavilion was built in 1930 in wood and is now in a state of poor repair.

·        The current pavilion does not meet the Disability Discrimination Act requirements. Health and Safety and fire issues are also in question.

    

Will the new building damage the environment?

 

The previous planning consent has required us to produce an Ecological Management Plan, covering the whole of the recreation ground, to protect and enhance the flora and fauna.  This document is part of the planning consent and will be legally binding.