Burnham United Football Club’s plans to expand and modernise its clubhouse have been given a major boost with a huge cash injection.

The club has been awarded £225,000 of grant funding from waste firm Viridor Credits and a further £10,000 from the Town Council.

The funding will enable a bigger, modern clubhouse to be built in Burnham’s Cassis Close to be used by senior and junior players.

Project Manager Ollie Taylor, pictured, issued a plea for funding during the latest Town Council meeting, saying: “The current building is very out of date, having been built over 50 years ago. It is no longer manageable. The electrics are very outdated and the building has a leaking roof.

“The total cost of our project is £260,000 and we already have a 90 per cent grant from Viridor Credits plus £20,000 of RLT3 funding. These improvements have been long-awaited.”

“We’re £10,000 short so we’re appealing for help from the Town Council with the rest coming from our fundraising. Football provides opportunities for all in the area and this new building will help us help develop players.”

Town councillor Phil Harvey told the meeting: “I support this, but I do see Cassis Close as a lost opportunity. There are many disparate buildings there and with the help of a £2million lottery grant we could have had a fantastic modern building to accommodate all the groups. If only that could have been considered many years ago.”

Cllr Peter Burridge-Clayton said: “I fully back the project and feel we must support this. For Viridor to give such considerable backing, it shows this is a well thought out project that will benefit the community.”

Cllr Andy Brewer added: “This is a very worthwhile project and £10,000 is not a huge amount for us to give towards it. It’s important to bring the facilities up to modern standards.”

However, with the bulk of the Town Council’s grant funds budget spent for 2015 after several major applications in recent months, councillors discussed several options on how to fund the project, including using regeneration funds.

Instead, the members of the council’s Policy and Finance Committee agreed to give £5,000 of grant funding now to the project with a further £5,000 coming next financial year. The decision is subject to the final agreement of the full Town Council at their meeting in the New Year.

Mr Taylor welcomed the news, telling Burnham-On-Sea.com afterwards: “It is great news and exciting times for the club. Work will begin in March and we hope to finish in September.”

 
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