BASILDON Council has secured more funding in its quest to renovate a community hall.

Sport England has given the council £128,200 towards restoring the pavilion at Wickford Memorial Park.

The boost comes after £287,000 was donated from Veolia, and will go towards a facelift of the pavilion. The authority expects the revamp to cost more than £600,000 in total, and the building, if successfully restored, would serve as a sports, recreation, and community centre.

Graham Light, the council’s project development officer, said: “This is a great result for the park and the local community, who have supported this project from the outset.

“There were £47million worth of applications for a funding pot of only £15million. Our case officer at Sport England confirmed the Basildon application was considered to be the strongest and most compelling of those competing for the Inspired Facilities funding programme.

“This is yet another milestone in a community programme to make the park a fantastic place for local people to come to for sport and relaxation.”