£100,000 awarded to Theale Parish Council

Published: 18 October 2021

Theale Parish Council is delighted that it has recently been awarded £100,000 in Community Infrastructure Levy funds from West Berkshire Council following a bidding process. The money will be used to deliver a new play area and a Multi-Use Sports Area on Theale’s recreation ground in the next financial year.

Paul Clifford (chair of the open spaces committee) says:

On behalf of the parish council’s open spaces committee, we are really excited to share the news that Theale Parish Council has won a grant of £100,000 from the West Berkshire Council Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) fund.

Subject to relevant permissions, the parish council is planning to replace the tired-looking play area by the church and add an all-weather Multiple-Use Sports Area (MUSA) to the recreation ground. We have outline plans for the MUSA which will include a multi-use sports court, walking/running track, basketball hoops, outdoor gym, exercise area, table tennis, street fitness and more, all covered by security cameras. The new play area and MUSA will cater for all age ages and abilities.

We would also like our local residents to have their say so our next step is ask our parishioners for feedback on our plans before taking them to the authorities for planning permission.

We aim to put the new facilities in place by April 2023.

Many thanks must go to West Berkshire Council and our dedicated parish office staff for pulling together a huge amount of information to complete the application.

The council is keen to improve green and social infrastructure within the village to meet the imminent expansion of the village as work on the Lakeside housing development starts.

The public and local schools will be consulted on the designs of the proposed play area and MUSA in the near future. Keep an eye on the parish council website for updates!