Residents of Furness Vale in the Peak District are celebrating the grand opening of a new community pavilion.
Furness Community Organising Green Spaces (COGS) was awarded £72,270 from the Tarmac Landfill Communities Fund, which enabled the charity to reach its fundraising goal to build a new community pavilion on the village field, along with installing a sustainable solar heating system.
Furness Vale now can boast a fully functional pavilion, complete with showers, changing rooms, kitchen, and meeting room.
Other funders include High Peak Borough Council, Derbyshire County Council, the Football Foundation, Whaley Bridge Town Council, together with COGS reserves and its own fundraising. The total amount raised to complete the building has been more than £200,000.
Furness COGS has been working since 2010 to improve and provide facilities at the field. The first phase saw the field landscaped with a new football pitch, paths, flowerbeds, outdoor gym equipment, wildflower meadow, mosaic trail and much more.
The grand opening took place on Saturday 15 July, with a ceremonial ribbon cutting followed by a barbecue, refreshments, music, and activities for children.
Terry Watson, chair of Furness COGS, said: “Getting to this point has been quite a journey, with many bumps and obstacles in the road, especially the trials and delays of Covid. But after lots of patience and resilience Furness COGS are delighted to have delivered a project to be proud of and the village now has the facilities which it deserves. We want to express our gratitude to all our funders and to the community who support all our events.”
David Wilson, senior manager at Tarmac, added: “We’re proud that we were able to help Furness COGS with this project through the Tarmac Landfill Communities Fund. It is great to see the project finished and the pavilion open.
“The field and pavilion projects have been the result of much hard work from Furness COGS and the whole community – coming together to enhance the village and give local people their own much-needed usable green space to use on their doorstep.”
Through the Tarmac Landfill Communities Fund, Tarmac donates around £1 million each year to community projects. The fund is open to applicants who meet the criteria for projects delivering community benefit.
For more information, visit www.entrust.org.uk or email det@derbyshire.gov.uk
