Newport & Carisbrooke Community Council will formally open new and improved sports facilities at the popular Downside Recreation Ground, Pan at 14:00 on Saturday (4th January 2020).
Thanks to a Sports England grant of £80,000 for a desperately needed drainage scheme and Section 106 planning gain contributions from the Pan Meadows developers for new changing rooms costing £129,000, the well-used recreation ground will be back into all year usage after a 3-year gap.
The opening will be marked with a senior football match between Island League Division 1 side Pan Sports and Cowes Sports Reserves.
Councillor Geoff Brodie has said:
“Since the Pan Meadows development, the recreation ground was getting more and more boggy and unusable in the autumn and winter months.
“IW Council officers securing the Sports England grant was a real bonus for securing all-year round use by senior and junior footballer and other sportspeople. The changing rooms were needed after Barton Primary School moved into the adjacent Pan Community Hub in 2016, meaning shower access was lost there.
“All of this, together with ongoing improvements to the children’s play park, funded by planning gain and the Community Council, mean that the Pan community are seeing substantial investment in their community. I am delighted that all this has happened after my lobbying and wish to thank officers of both the Community Council and IW Council for their support.”
The recreation ground and facilities will be managed by the Community Council.
