New Northstowe sports pavilion is finished
Work to build a pavilion to serve the sports pitches in Northstowe has been completed.
An opening date for the centre, which has been provided by South Cambridgeshire District Council, has yet to be announced.
Marcin Lis, chairman at Northstowe Sports and Wellbeing, said: “This is a crucial moment in the town’s development, as it provides an opportunity for individuals, groups, and sports clubs to enjoy various activities.
“The facility will play a significant role in encouraging an active lifestyle and fostering a happy and healthy community through sports.”
The pavilion on Peppercorn Drive will serve the Western Park sport pitches, bowling green and hard surface games area.
It will provide team and referee changing, a fully accessible changing places facility, and a large clubroom area that includes a commercial kitchen and servery.
The pavilion meets the specifications suggested by Sport England, the Football Association and Rugby Football Union.
The pavilion’s green design includes an air source heat pump to provide heating and hot water, electric vehicle charging points, and solar panels on the roof. Several changing rooms also benefit from wastewater heat recovery.
Pentaco Construction has now completed the building work and handed the facility over to the council, which has selected Elite Sports UK as the partner to run the pavilion and Northstowe’s Western Park sports facility.
Operation of the pavilion and pitches will be overseen by a management board, made up of the district and town councils, Longstanton Bowls Club and Northstowe Sports and Wellbeing Group, meaning that the community will be able to influence the way the facility is run.
The building has received funding from the government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It is one of several community buildings the council is delivering for residents in the first phase of Northstowe.
A temporary centre opened in the summer and the council submitted a planning application for a permanent community centre in September.
Cllr Bill Handley (Lib Dem, Over and Willingham), lead cabinet member for communities, said: “This building is going to be a great asset to Northstowe and the surrounding area for years to come. We know people are eager to use it, and the pitches, and we will confirm the opening details as soon as we can.
“The pavilion is one of several excellent community facilities that we are bringing forwards on phase one of Northstowe. We delivered a temporary community centre this summer – and it’s wonderful to see how well it is already being used.
“We have submitted exciting plans for the permanent community centre and continue to make progress on buildings such as the Civic Hub which will follow a little further down the line. We are fully committed to delivering for the community at Northstowe.”
Longstanton Bowls Club will be relocating to Northstowe and making the new bowls green their operating centre.
Northstowe is in the first phase of a vision that will develop over the course of around 20 years.
