Exmouth residents have spoken on how they want £300,000 of developer cash to be spent on sports facilities in the town.
The Section 106 funds, collected by East Devon District Council from housing developments, will be spent on resurfacing an astro pitch at the community college and on new sports-related equipment at Brixington Park.
The district council and Exmouth Town Council asked residents, voluntary groups and other organisations in 2019 for ideas on how to use the £300,000 pot.
A total of seven suggestions were put to a community vote in 2020 when 5,000 households were given a unique online code to vote with.
The resurfacing work at the community college pitch – which is used by community groups in the evenings – got picked by 52 per cent of those who voted.
Installation of sport-related equipment at Brixington Park got 41 per cent.
These results have already been acknowledged by Exmouth Town Council’s Section 106/CIL working party as being where the money should be spent and their recommendation will go before the full town council committee.
Chairman of Exmouth Town Council’s Section 106/Community Infrastructure Levy Working Party, Councillor Fred Caygill said: “I am pleased to say that finally we have a result on the public vote for the allocation of Section 106 funds for community sports projects in Exmouth. Health and wellbeing are two particularly important subjects that we should all be encouraging in all sectors and at all levels.
“These are two projects that will benefit all sections of the community and I am sure will be welcomed by the people of Exmouth as being worthy winners of the Public Vote.”
The district council say any Section 106 money left over, or any collected in the future, will be spent on the other five projects in order of how many votes they received.
The list is as follows:
- Free-to-use concrete track for wheeled sports in Carter Avenue – 37 per cent
- Expanding the current skate park in Phear Park – 37 per cent
- A back exercise wall in Phear Park – 23 per cent
- New drainage system at Exmouth Rugby Club – 23 per cent
- Additional parking at Withycombe Raleigh Common football pitches – 20 per cent
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