A £4million project to transform one of Exeter’s best-loved green spaces is to be partly funded by developers building homes around the city.
The King George V Playing Fields project joins the revamp of the Wonford Leisure Centre on the agenda for an extraordinary meeting of Exeter City Council this week (March 24). Both are likely to be funded in part by ‘Section 106’ contributions from developers.
Councillors are likely to rubber-stamp the projects as suitable uses for the money, which developers are required to hand over to fund essential improvements in the local area.
The Exeter City Community Trust, which is the partner charity of Exeter City FC, is leading the work at the 40-acre playing fields off Topsham Road.
The charity has secured almost £2million from the Premier League, the FA and the government’s Football Foundation towards the ambitious project.
Added to this will be almost £465,000 of Section 106 money if the full council gives the go-ahead.
The council has leased the playing fields to Exeter KGV Ltd, which is Exeter City Community Trust’s wholly owned company.
Phase one of the work includes two new Football Foundation PlayZones, a 3G pitch and refurbishment to the existing pavilion to include accessible changing rooms and community-use rooms.
The site is a priority within the city council’s Playing Pitch Strategy, which reviews current and future demand for formal sports facilities. As part of the scheme, 65 new trees will be planted in partnership with the council to form a community orchard.
The second phase of the project is due to include padel courts, an extension to the existing pavilion to incorporate a community café and social space, woodland trails and walkways, and further improvements to grass pitches.
The fields are among hundreds established across the UK following the death of King George V in 1936. The aim was to ‘promote and assist in the establishment of playing fields for the use and enjoyment of the people’.
They are legally protected by the Fields in Trust charity, whose mission is to preserve and safeguard the land for public benefit.
New Exeter project tackles anti-social behaviour
Police appeal for information following a serious assault in Exeter
Buddle Lane gas upgrade finishes ahead of schedule
Bid for motorbikes on walking lane rejected after wave of opposition
Developer bids to create 14 small-scale industrial units at major Devon hub
Six e-bikes seized and four arrested as part of police crackdown in Exeter
East Devon commits to delivering infrastructure-first new community despite “frustrating” Government decision
Exeter finds funds to revamp run-down leisure centre
