Calne scoops prize in National Market Towns Awards

A 94-acre sports complex costing £2.3million for the town of Calne in Wiltshire has won the South West regional prize in the prestigious Market Town Awards and will now go head-to-head with projects from seven other regions in the National Market Town Awards.

The Beversbrook Sports Pitch Project was conceived after surveys showed the town was badly short of recreation land. The town council grasped the nettle and pledged to provide a recreation facility for the community.

Beginning with the purchase of 94 acres of land, a successful bid to the Football Foundation for funding of £1m, £800,000 from the town council and £75,000 from the then North Wiltshire District Council, Beversbrook Playing Pitch Project was realised.

It provides facilities for several sports including, football, cricket, boxing, table tennis, badminton, netball and archery and there is a wonderful pavilion and community hall, with facilities to cater for every occasion. Since opening, it has gone from strength to strength, with over 800 people in some weeks using the facilities.

The judges commented that the project had combined community engagement and involvement with exceptional support from Town Council and a superb funding package.

The Beversbrook Sports Pitch Project won the Social and Community Category in the regional Market Town Awards and was also the overall regional winner.

The award was presented at a ceremony in Trowbridge by Action for Market Towns board members Peter Godfrey and Gordon Morris.

They now go head-to-head with other regional winners to compete for the National Market Town Award at the Action for Market Towns Convention in Chippenham, Wiltshire on October 12.

Other winners were:

Partnership and Strategic Working Category – Main Place, Coleford for a project deriving from targets in the Community-led Plan. A partnership between public, private and voluntary sectors involved replacing an old community centre with the Main Place, a £2.5m purpose-built centre with enterprise hub, library, adult day care, youth/community centre altogether, and housing to come on the old site.

Business and Economy Category – First Tuesday, Ilminster for its special shopping day on the first Tuesday of every month which aims to increase visitor footfall in the town. There is a ‘First Tuesday’ prize draw, free to all shoppers buying or visiting at participating businesses. Prizes vary from First Tuesday Vouchers (£100, redeemable at any First Tuesday business) to a week’s holiday in France.

Environment and Culture Category – Platform 2, Sherborne for the regeneration of Sherborne station in partnership with community groups, young people, business and South West Trains. The idea was to bring light and colour to the dark and dingy platform 2 of the station, promote the town and provide passengers, tourists and local residents with a permanent display of local art.

The South West Market Town Awards are part of the National Market Town Awards which each year celebrate the great variety of volunteer-led projects which are helping to regenerate and sustain small towns throughout the country. The Awards are organised by Action for Market Towns, the national organization with over 400 towns in membership which supports the regeneration and vitality of small towns.