A SWIMMING pool and community pavilion have been given significant funding to improve their facilities. 

Over Wallop Parish Council was awarded £266,500 and Lordsfield Swimming Club, in Overton, was awarded £835,400 in the latest round of levelling up funding.

Forty-five treasured spaces in villages, towns and cities will receive more than £12.3m in funding so they can be run by the community, for the community.

Thanks to the latest funding from the government’s Community Ownership Fund, these institutions will be owned and run by hardworking community groups. 

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In Over Wallop, the funding will be used to rebuild the dilapidated community pavilion and create a sustainable sports facility and community hub for residents of the village and surrounding rural area.

Andover Advertiser: Lordsfield Swimming Club

In Overton, it will be used for essential renovations that will create a long-term, sustainable future for the community swimming pool so the volunteer-run facility can continue to provide low-cost swimming to local schools and the wider community.

Jacob Young, Minister for Levelling Up, said: “Our priority is to support communities and deliver opportunities right across the country, which is why we’re investing £12.3m to secure the future of cherished community institutions.  

“These places – from pubs to historic railway lines – are the golden thread which run through our social fabric, and keeping them going is vital for supporting communities.”

The Community Ownership Fund has now given £49.3m for 195 projects across the UK.

This includes almost £8m for 33 pubs so that local people can still go to their beloved local, and £14.6m for 66 community centres so they can continue to play an important role in people’s lives.   

Andover Advertiser: Over Wallop pavilion

The latest round of allocations includes £770,057 for three projects in Wales, £992,825 for four projects in Scotland and more than £1m for four projects in Northern Ireland.  

Changes which came into effect for this round of bids also meant that all projects could bid for up to £1m in funding, not just sports clubs, and the amount organisations needed to match fund decreased to only 20 per cent, to allow more places to benefit.  

The Community Ownership Fund is currently open again for bids and will close on Wednesday, October 11, and groups are being urged to apply for up to £2m in funding for the very first time.