CALLINGTON Town Council has been awarded £40,000 from Cornwall Council to bring a new Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) to the town.

The money has been supplied by Cornwall Council as it announced the second round of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Fund which funds infrastructure projects that benefit children and young people.

Callington Town Councillor, Karen Gold as Chair of the outside services committee was championing the project and expressed her excitement following the news.

Cllr Gold said: ‘I was really quite excited about it. I’m really really pleased, it’s been really hard work getting there and eventually we’ve got there.’

Cllr Gold explained that the idea for the MUGA was brought forward by the youth of the town.

‘When I was working up at the community college quite a few years ago, I was approached by some young people who explained that they wanted a basketball net.

‘They wanted somewhere for free where they could have a play. When I started looking into the idea, I became aware that the amount you pay for a basketball net is half that you would pay for a MUGA, and then it was like, if we’re going to do that, then we may as well go further.

‘We started before covid and then everything had to go on hold, and when this funding came up I thought right, if I can get hold of some other money we can go for it.’

The £40,000 that has been awarded to Callington Town Council is a share of more than £1.1m in grants from Cornwall Council that have gone to projects in the county including play areas, skate parks and activity hubs.

Applicants needed to show how there was local need and community support for their project, as well as how the projects will directly support children and young people in their area.

Cllr Gold expressed that the application was put forward following receipt of positive feedback from the Callington community.

‘We did a consultation and put it out on our website and we also visited some of the local youth organisations and we got positive feedback.

‘I think it’s needed in the town, it’ll give young people an area they can play cricket, football, basketball, anything they want to do, on a hard surface.’

Although the money awarded from the CIL fund will not cover the overall cost of the MUGA, Cllr Gold explained that there will hopefully be some Section 106 money available to add the required funds.

Cllr Gold said: ‘There is other 106 money that I will try and access from the Bakers Estates down South Hill road.

‘There is some money coming for recreational parks, so I will look at getting hold of that, so that’s my next step forward.’

The new MUGA is proposed to be installed at Launceston Road Recreation Ground. The council have already completed a site visit with the company that they are looking to install the games area.

Cllr Gold has hopes that the MUGA will be installed by the end of the year.