I have always been passionate about the role sport can play in both bringing communities together and creating and providing an interest for young people. Athletics was my passion and I ran for the Cornwall cross country team for many years and my family help sponsor Camborne Rugby Club today.
I think that amateur sports clubs have a crucial role to play in our community. We need to have the club structures and facilities there to support and encourage children into the sport they love.
Its good news that significant government investment totalling nearly half a million pounds has been allocated to communal sports facilities in Camborne and Redruth. Among the projects slated for improvement, Grouter Park stands to receive £179,980 earmarked for the upgrade of its changing pavilion, alongside an additional £2,025 designated for new goalposts.
The investment extends to smaller projects as well, such as the provision of £1,187 for goalposts at Clijah Croft and £5,674 for maintenance equipment at Mount Ambrose Cricket Club. Furthermore, funding of £1,080 has been allocated for goalposts at the Wendron Football and Cricket Club Grounds, along with £9,180 for the procurement of grass pitch and AGP maintenance equipment. The Tony Rowe Memorial Ground will benefit from £1,913 allotted for improved storage facilities.
In addition to these recent announcements, there are a couple of other significant projects supporting sport in this part of a Cornwall. Camborne Rugby Club have a bid under the Town Deal to improve their changing facilities which will be a big step forward for the club which is has made huge strides in recent years. I am also still working hard to try to secure the long term future of Carn Brea Leisure Centre. Like many people who grew up in this part of Cornwall, I have lots of fond memories of Carn Brea Leisure Centre which has been an essential asset to the community for 50 years. At any given time, some 1200 local children are learning to swim there. I have been running since I was nine, when I first joined Cornwall Athletic Club, often doing my training at Carn Brea. The site is home to Cornwall’s only eight-lane synthetic athletics track and the largest athletics club in Cornwall which makes it a very important sporting asset for the county.
Over the last 12 months, I have been engaging with the government and colleagues at Cornwall Council to try and find a route to securing some funding. One idea had been that the centre at Carn Brea could benefit from a broader 'Health and well-being’ bid to the Levelling-Up fund run by the government however some of those funds have been difficult to access. There are other potential options including a fund used to support crucial community assets which we are also exploring. If we can find the funds to resurface the track and replace the roof of the centre, we will secure the future of this vital community asset for the next twenty years.
