People living in Hethersett are being asked for their views on a proposed new £600,000 village pavilion, and if they would support a council tax rise to help pay for it.
Hethersett Parish Council has launched a public survey as part of the process to replace the outdated brick pavilion on the village’s Memorial Playing Field.
The aim is to replace the building with a modern one providing facilities for everyone who uses the field.
The proposed building will feature changing rooms, a meeting and recreation community room with an adjacent kitchen that can be hired out separately, external toilets and covered seating.
Additional parking will also be created.
The new pavilion is a joint project between Hethersett Parish Council and the Trustees of the Memorial Playing Field.
Adrienne Quinlan, chairman of Hethersett Parish Council, said the two organisations had been working for some time on a joint project to update the pavilion.
She said: “We are now at the consultation stage of the process and are asking residents to fill in an online survey.”
The project has been given an initial boost of £100,000 from money from housing development on Great Melton Road and the committee is hopeful of receiving another grant of more than £200,000 from the Football Foundation.
But to ensure the project can be completed, the parish council is warning it may need to approach the Public Works Loan Board for a long term loan at a very low rate of interest.
Mrs Quinlan said: “This will be a last resort and we will only borrow what we need but I’m not prepared for us to start a project that will fail. We have to be sure we can finish it.”
Copies of the survey will be sent to homes along with the next edition of the parish newsletter.
The survey will ask people what they use the current playing field for, whether they would use the updated facilities and what they would like to see a community room used for.
It will also ask people whether they would support a 16p per week per household increase to the council tax if a loan has to be applied for.
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