A Norwich park is set for a major multi-million pound revamp after the government backed a transformation project, having rejected it earlier this year.
The government has agreed to put £7.6m into a scheme to breathe new life into the city's Sloughbottom Park on the Mile Cross estate through its flagship 'Levelling Up' fund.
The regeneration plans include improvements to the park's historic pavilion, a new 3G football pitch, improved changing facilities, play park improvements and a revamp for the BMX track.
Norwich City Council previously stressed the plans for the pavilion would see improvements made to it, rather than it being demolished and replaced.
A spokesperson for Norwich City Council said: “This is great news for the north of the city. Our successful bid for government funding will see millions of pounds invested within and around Sloughbottom Park.
“This will contribute to one of the council’s wider ambitions of supporting more residents to live active and healthier lives linked to better health, safety, wellbeing, and social mobility”.
Norwich North MP Chloe Smith said: "This is good news for Norwich. The government is backing Mile Cross and the project will help level up opportunities in the area including through increasing employment, improving health, adding life chances for local kids and reducing crime.
"I am delighted that our work is recognised and we can succeed in helping our community where it’s most needed."
The announcement, in the centenary of the creation of the Mile Cross estate, comes after the project missed out on millions in January's round of money from that government pot.
The Greater Norwich Growth Board (GNGB), made up of Norfolk, Norwich, South Norfolk and Broadland councils, agreed to contribute £850,000 to the project from a pool of cash generated by the community infrastructure levy - a tax on developers.
According to the GNGB report, the project “aims to improve the well-being and life chances of people in Mile Cross, helping to address the intergenerational problems which entrench deprivation and inhibit social mobility”.
The idea is that the revamped pavilion would become a hub and classroom, with space where coaching sessions for sports, including football and BMX, could be run.
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