THE community in St Tudy is celebrating after securing £120,000 funds towards a longstanding plan to create a community hub.

Trustees of St Tudy Playing Field Trust are building a £450,000 new net-zero, accessible community hub located in the St Tudy Playing Fields after receiving the final piece of the funding jigsaw from the Community Levelling Up Programme.

The grant will also fund a hub development manager and the trustees have additionally secured a grant from the Cornwall Council’s Community Infrastructure Levy Fund of £100,000.

The multifunctional and multigenerational St Tudy Community Hub will include purpose-built Preschool classrooms, secure outdoor area, staffroom with kitchen facilities, toilets and changing facilities. It will also incorporate a community room with toilet facilities, used by groups for leisure, sporting, health related and other activities, storage and plant room and separate entrances allowing secure separate access points.

The hub will provide a shared space to be used by the whole community for a variety of sports or leisure pursuits.

New groups can be formed to support community members of all ages. The hub will also help St Tudy Preschool expand into permanent facilities, which will in turn supports local parents in returning to work, along with fulfilling the new government guidelines for provision for children aged two.

St Tudy Primary School will be able to use the community room to eat their lunches in an asbestos free building; the youth football teams, continuing their use of the playing fields for both training and matches. This allows more youngsters from the village and the wider area to play sports and have toilet and first aid facilities by the pitch. Better facilities may encourage other local teams to use the facilities, especially as St Tudy is one of few playing fields with flood lights for evening use

Other youth organisations who wish to use the playing field will benefit from toilets, kitchen facilities and an indoor space.

Karen Whalley who led the bid said: “We are delighted our net zero community hub will offer the local and wider community a space fit for the future. It will enhance facilities in the village, providing long-term security and a permanent base to a number of organisations.

“This project was initiated by the local community and has been led by volunteers from local organisations ever since. Our many years of efforts have finally been rewarded with the recent grant success allowing the community hub build to start.

“The Playing Field Trustees will oversee the building project which was awarded to a local building company Runnalls Construction.’

“The support and generosity of the local community that has enabled the project to reach this major milestone is much appreciated and continued support will be very welcome.”

Trustees of St Tudy Playing Field Trust has been fundraising to create the hub over the past seven years. Funds have been raised through fundraising events, a significant donation from a local landowner including additional land, financial donations, a legacy and other grant providers including the Community Capacity Fund. The new community hub building is due to open in spring 2025.

Councillor Louis Gardner, Cornwall Council portfolio holder for economy, said: “With the support of Community Levelling Up funding, as well as CIL funding from Cornwall Council, this new multifunctional community hub in the centre of the village will bring together the generations to enjoy facilities that will promote education, leisure, sport and health for the benefit of all. It is a great use of funding that is intended to help communities level up.”