How the new Sports Pavilion happened

Anyone who has been in the vicinity of the Wale Recreation Ground recently will have noticed the progress being made on the building of the new Sports & Recreation Pavilion. The roof is on, the floor is laid and the internal work is making steady headway. Completion of the building is still planned for mid – January and the official opening has been set for the 25^th April, when Tony Lewis ex England cricket Captain, broadcaster and Life Vice-President of the MCC will do the honours.

Progress has also been made on the fundraising front. After long, and often frustrating, negotiations with the England & Wales Cricket Board at local and national level, they have finally agreed to give us a grant of £20,000. A further grant of £10,000 has also been pledged by the Garfield Weston Foundation, a charity administered by the Weston family, one-time owners of Associated British Foods.

Fundraising for the project continues apace with a Wine Tasting with Noel Young’s Wines in the Village Hall on Saturday, 29^th November. Why not come and raise a glass (or two) with us. Tickets at £12.50 each can be obtained from Neil Orpwood (842843), Ray Saich (8427370 or Maurice Palmer (845387).

<<< Sod Cutting Ceremony photo >>>

A sod-cutting ceremony to kick-start the building of the new sports pavilion took place on June 29 2014. At the ceremony, Parish Council Chairman David Martin praised the generosity of the villagers who have given more than £100,000 towards the new building. He also commended the drive and determination of Pavilion Trust chairman Maurice Palmer and building designer Vic Franklin for making the new pavilion a reality.

The sod cutting was carried out by Cllr David Bard (with the spade), Chairman of South Cambridgeshire District Council. Also pictured are (left to right) Vic Franklin, Maurice Palmer, Cllr Charles Nightingale and Parish Council Chairman David Martin.

Work on the foundations for the building started on June 30 2014.

<<< New Pavilion Artist's Impression >>>

Building work on the new Little Shelford sports and community pavilion on the Wale Recreation Ground began on June 9 2014.

<<< 4 Photos by David Jones >>>

<<< 3 Photos by Simon Conway-Smith >>>

The current pavilion, which is almost 100 years old, will be demolished. The building work is expected to be completed by the end of January.

The Rec will be open during the building project. However there will be temporary changes around the main entrance and access to some areas close to the Pavilion will be restricted.

The building work is being carried out by Sawston company, Butlers as part of a contract. Designs for the new pavilion have been drawn up pro-bono by Little Shelfordian Vic Franklin.

Most of the moeny for the new building has been raised by the Pavilion Trust, chaired by Maurice Palmer.They have raised £156,000 in grants from South Cambridgeshire District Council, Amey Cespa, Wren, the Football Foundation and Sport England.

Around £104,000 has been raised in and around Little Shelford including money from the Entertainments committee and donation.

The Parish Council has taken out a loan of £70,000 to help meet the project target following a village-wide poll.

<<< Brie Presenting Cheque photo >>>

Maurice Palmer, chairman of the Pavilion Trust, receives a cheque for £3,500 from Brie Lury, a committee member of the Little Shelford Entertainments committee.

As at January 29 2014, the fundraising total stood at £260, 000. The target is £325,000.

A special meeting to update the village about the Pavilion took place on October 30. These are the slides from the meeting.

The most recent event, the Golf Day raised a whopping £1,146. there have also been further donations from individuals of £4,250 and a further excellent pledge of £3,500 from the Entertainments Committee. A fee of £1500 has also been generously waived. That brings our total to date to £222,300.

Funds raised as at Oct 23 2013

You can find the full project Business Plan attached at the bottom of the page.

<<< Chris presenting cheque photo >>>

Trust chairman Maurice Palmer pictured receiving a cheque for £4,500 presented by Chris Christodoulou from the Little Shelford Entertainments Committee. the money was some of the proceeds from the September fun week-end. “In receiving the cheque Maurice thanked the Entertainments Committee for the fantastic donation and for once again exceeding all expectations. By common consent this year’s Gala Weekend was the best ever and he congratulated the Committee on their hard work, dedication and success. He also thanked them for their continued support and for helping to raise the profile of the Pavilion project within the village.” Photo: Will Conway-Smith

The fundraising continues unabated and significant progress has been made over the summer. Funds raised to date now exceed £117,000, mainly through events and some very generous contributions from villagers and friends of Little Shelford from further afield. The campaign has been granted £30,000 by South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Community Fund with the option of a further £20,000 top-up at the next round of applications. This brings the total raised to £100,000.

In recent months we have held an 80’s Disco, expertly organised by David Martin, which contributed £1400. In October a Golf Day at the Gogs raised £1300 and we also held a Saturday morning Brunch which did not raise a great deal of money, but helped to make a few more friends. The food was excellent and the cooking of Simon Conway-Smith a revelation.

A further £4,000 is being donated from the fun weekednthe proceeds of the Gala Weekend. Many congratulations to Stephanie Hatter and her Entertainments Committee who laid on what has been described by many as the best Gala weekend ever and our thanks to them for their continued support.

On the 17TH November we will be holding a “Dream Auction” with over fifty items up for sale. The auction will be preceded by a unique wine tasting to help you get in the mood, so please come and join us and you may get what you’ve always wanted at a knock down price!

Our special merchandise has also been selling well. Shopping bags are still on sale at £2 per bag.(Contact Ray Saich) The very popular Christmas cards are now available at four packs for £10. Hand tinted prints of All Saints Church are available at £15 and framed at £25.(Contact Vic Franklin) We are again producing a calendar depicting historical views of Little Shelford at £6.99. David Martin is currently taking orders for these calendars.

We have recently submitted an application for grants to Sport England and we will also be applying to the Football Foundation, the England & Wales Cricket Board and to other local companies who support community initiatives.

Maurice Palmer.

Trust Chairman

October 2012

Exclusive hand tinted prints of All Saints Church have been created to raise money for the new pavilion. They will be on sale privately over the summer and at the Fun week-end in September.

<<< Shelford Parva image >>>

Fundraising update

Having obtained Planning Permission for a new pavilion in April, we have now launched into the next stage of the project which is the very important phase of raising the necessary funds. Through organising events and with the help of a very generous benefactor we have raised to date around £35 ,000, but there is a long way to go to reach our £250,000 target. Naturally, we are anticipating that the bulk of this total will come from grants from the various sporting bodies and local community grants.

This will be the focus of our immediate attention. We have recently written a very comprehensive Business Plan which will form the basis of our grant application and is available for perusal by anyone considering making a donation to our fund. The Trust has now been accorded Charitable Status which allows us to reclaim tax on donations from UK tax payers.

Recent events which have taken place include an 80’s Disco, kindly organised by David Martin, which raised £1390 and a Garden Party, dodging showers, which raised £700 Our thanks to all those who supported these occasions .In addition, eco-friendly shopping bags are on sale from Ray Saich at £2 each and Vic Franklin has prints of the church on sale from £10 to £120 for framed editions.

Events which have been organised for the remainder of the year include:-

October 13th – Howzat Brunch

17th November – Auction of promises and wine tasting. This is being organised by Ray Saich who would welcome your donation of promises and articles to be auctioned.

We are once again grateful to the Entertainments Committee for nominating us as their selected charity this year and we look forward to another bumper weekend on the 6th – 9th September, celebrating “The Best of British”.

Maurice Palmer.

August 2012