New leisure facility hopes for Overton (From Andover Advertiser)

New leisure facility hopes for Overton

7:26am Friday 23rd March 2007

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OVERTON Rugby Club will not be returning to the village in the near future after a project to build a new facility failed to attract enough funding - but the scheme may now be refocused to create a multi-use sports and leisure facility for the village.

Local charity Overton Recreation Centre has been working with the rugby club for around 10 years to raise funding for a new building which would house changing rooms at Berrydown Lane.

A review of the project revealed that despite amassing a fund of around £245,000 in cash and pledges, increasing building costs and difficulties in obtaining grants have rendered it unfeasible.

The fund will now be split to allow the rugby club to improve its facilities at the Old Cricket Ground at Laverstoke Park, while the charity may now form plans for a new sport, leisure and community facility.

Colin Parker, general manager of Overton Recreation Centre, said: "While it is disappointing to call time on our aim of returning the rugby club to Overton, there might be more support for what we are planning now as it is not only about one sport.

"The latest predicted cost was put at £700,000 which has escalated a lot from just two or three years ago.

It became more difficult to see how we were going to attract funding and the emphasis at Sport England seems to have shifted to more multi-sport projects.

"It is early days, so nothing specific is planned yet, but as things progress residents will be informed about what's happening and we will want to go back to them to find out what they want."

Overton Recreation Centre will hold a meeting at the end of the month, which Mr Parker said would hopefully clarify the project's new aims, and set out a way to move forward.

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