Newick Sports Pavilion Redevelopment

Newick’s Playing Fields are located on Allington Road, Newick. They consist of the King George V Playing Fields (KGVPF) and the adjoining Manwaring Robertson Field. KGVPF is a designated Fields in Trust field. Both KGVPF and the Manwaring Robertson Field are owned by Newick Parish Council.

On the KGVPF site there is a Sports Pavilion, a cricket/stoolball pitch and a football pitch. The Marwaring Robertson field in Newick is home to a rugby pitch. The Sports Pavilion at King George V Playing Fields has been a well loved and well used building for many years. The current layout can be seen here. In the past there have been several plans draw up to replace or extend the existing building. Much of this work historically has been done by Newick Sports Pavilion Charitable Trust (NSPCT), which has previously been known as the Sports Pavilion Committee before formally registering as a charity a few years ago. This body is made up of representatives from the various sports clubs and they lease the building from the owners (Newick Parish Council). Over many years volunteers from the NSPCT have worked really hard on various plans and options for the building but sadly the project has not come to fruition.

In June 2023 Newick Parish Council and the trustees of NSPCT agreed a new approach. Going forward the Parish Council (as owners of the building) will lead the project in collaboration with the trustees. This approach has not been tried in the past and it is hoped that the resources and access to finances that the Parish Council has, combined with the knowledge and commitment from the NSPCT will move this project forward.

To start the project a list of faults of the existing building and a wish list from each club secretary was created. Newick Parish Council opened three surveys, the results of which can be viewed below.

Newick Parish Council Pavilion User survey 2023 Newick Parish Council Pavilion Resident survey 2023 Newick Parish Council Pavilion Neighbour survey 2023

Having reviewed all the information gathered, the Parish Council commissioned a building survey which can be viewed here. This was then followed up with further structural investigations and a review of what funding may be available.

Given the results of the building survey and limited funding options, the Parish Council decided to pursue an extensive renovation project rather than a new building. Local architect George Pottinger was appointed as Project Manager. The Project Plan can be viewed here, the Stage 1 report can be viewed here with the Stage 2 report here. On 29th February 2024 members of the sports clubs were asked which layout they preferred, option A which can be viewed here or option B which can be seen here. George Pottinger also attended a Sports Pavilion Committee meeting. The feedback from the surveys and the meeting concluded that four changing rooms was necessary and a third set of plans ‘option C’ (a version of option A with improved safeguarding) can be viewed here and some visuals and a walkthrough video can be seen below. This plan was presented at the Annual Parish Meeting on the 20th March and prior to the Annual Parish Meeting the neighbouring properties received an update on the direction of the project. A further meeting with representatives of the Sports Clubs was held on the 9th April 2024. During and after this meeting comments were given to the Parish Council and the project manager finalised the plans for submission to Lewes District Council for planning permission. The application number was LW/24/0363 and the documents submitted include:

Design and Access Statement Proposed Site and Location Plan Proposed Ground Floor and Roof Plan Proposed Ground Floor and Roof Plan Proposed Elevations Sheet 1 Proposed Elevations Sheet 2

On 12th July 2024 the planning application was approved by Lewes District Council.

An application for £200,000 was made to Lewes District Council for funding towards the project (the rest of the money will come from the Parish Council and fundraising). This was approved in July 2024, with funds being made available in Spring 2025.

The first phase of works is Phase 1 to build the storage buildings. Following a tender process this work was awarded in October 2024 to Newick based building company, Abode. We are awaiting a start date for these works.

The Parish Council is now aiming to start the major building works (Phase 2) in late Spring 2025. Please contact the Project Manager, George Pottinger if you would like to tender for the construction works, then tender pack can be downloaded here Newick Pavilion

The Sports Pavilion Managements Trust is fundraising for the project, if you would like to donate please use this link https://gofund.me/3cbacc35