12:15pm Monday 6th September 2010
A DILAPIDATED sports pavilion is to be given a new lease of life in a major boost to facilities for a local school.
Students at Risedale Sports and Community College will benefit from the refurbishment of the ramshackle building which stands at nearby Jaffa fields, Catterick Garrison.
The sports fields are owned by the Ministry of Defence, operated by North Yorkshire County Council and used by students at Risedale Sports and Community College.
But the pavilion has decayed over the years and is in a poor state of repair with toilets that are unusable, holes in the floor and broken windows.
Now construction company Lend Lease, which is currently working with Defence Estates to provide single living accommodation at the garrison, has agreed to step in.
As part of an annual company-wide community initiative, their staff will carry out a major refit of the pavilion.
It will include repairing internal and external walls, replacing broken windows, painting inside and out, replacing flooring and cleaning up the toilets, in a project that would have cost tens of thousands of pounds.
There are also plans to build a barbecue, landscape the area and celebrate the event with a party and sports event.
Work is due to start shortly and is expected to be completed by mid-October.
The scheme is one of a number by Lend Lease as part of an initiative in which employees are encouraged to use their energy and skills to benefit the community.
Company spokesman Catherine Saville, said the idea arose from a conversation she had with information manager Neil Rooney, who was an ex-pupil of Risedale.
She discussed it with her son Jack, who has just left the school, and he thought it was a great idea as better facilities were much in need.
Mr Rooney added: "I remember running up there for PE when I was at school and it wasn’t in great shape then. In the current climate the school doesn’t have the resources to do anything about it."
Students will also be asked to come up with design ideas with a sporting theme for external murals for the pavilion. Risedale construction students will be involved in the project too.
Principal John Kelly said: "It is going to be amazing transformation of a much-needed facility and we are incredibly grateful."
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