Cash injection for Birmingham sports pavilion

A sports pavilion on Portland Road in Edgbaston is to undergo a £750,000 facelift.

Funded by Wolverhampton-based house builder Persimmon Homes as part of its Mitchell’s Brook development at Cape Hill Village, the overhaul will see the creation of four new changing rooms which will make the facilities accessible to less-abled visitors, a new all weather football pitch will be created together with two new tennis courts, a fully equipped multi play area and the complete relaying of the existing football pitch.

Work, which will be phased, is due to commence within the next few weeks and is scheduled to take up to 12 months to complete.

The sports pavilion was established more than fifty years ago and only former Mitchells & Butlers employees were entitled to membership. However, following the closure of the brewery in 2002, the sports pavilion was granted permission to continue trading on a self-sufficient basis and subsequently the facilities were opened up to the wider community.

Dean Doyle, director at the Portland Road sports pavilion, said: “The pavilion is already used by hundreds of people in the local community. We have around 12 football teams, ranging from the under sevens to adults, and our crown green bowling, amateur dramatics society and amateur boxing club on site are also extremely popular.

“We actively encourage and welcome new members of all ages and I’m sure the improved facilities will do just that. We are grateful that, with Persimmon’s help, we are able to keep this valuable, and historic, community asset open.”

Persimmon is not unusual in its behind-the-scenes support for a whole host of local community initiatives, as Dominic Harman, managing director for Wolverhampton-based Persimmon Homes West Midlands, explains:

“We take our responsibility to genuinely build communities seriously and sensitively and we make many donations, as well as giving our time at a very local level, to schools and charities across the area. We are delighted to be making a positive difference in Birmingham and look forward to unveiling the enhanced sporting facility which will benefit the local community for years to come.”

Mitchell’s Brook, one of Persimmon’s most successful developments, is situated on the site of the Old Cape Hill Brewery, the northern part of the site in the Sandwell Borough where up to 600 properties are being built while the southern side, called Deers Leap in the Birmingham borough will feature up to 375 homes.

For further information on the range of homes available at Mitchell’s Brook, visit Persimmonhomes.com.