The Somerton Recreation Ground Trust is in the early stages of developing plans for a potential new pavilion to be built as a new hub for the well-loved fields. Orme Architecture (Baltonsborough, Glastonbury) were asked to conduct some initial research and prepare early concept drawings so that the community could then be consulted.

Please use the DOWNLOAD link below to view the initial briefing document

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With the continued expansion of the town, the fields are used more than ever before for both organised sports and informal recreation. In normal times, hundreds of young people take part in team games and training sessions every week and the Recreation Ground hosts thriving senior and junior football, rugby and tennis clubs, a beautiful bowls club and a long- established Sports Club and Snooker Club. The Recreation Ground will also be host to a new running club that will be starting up as we ease out of lockdown and also a broad selection of social events such as the fair, the circus, Somerstock Festival, the Fun Day, the Fireworks display, the Wessex 10k and summer Rounders tournaments.

The on-site Sports Club also hosts many community groups for meetings and events.

Following consultation with various users of the existing recreation ground and building, an itinerary of room uses was collated, highlighting potential for multi-use spaces. Smaller changing spaces could be used by smaller clubs and less frequent users.

In the next year or so the Trust is scheduled to adopt an additional football pitch to be created by David Wilson Homes in the adjoining Patch Meadows estate, this will create a new flexibility in the overall pitch layout that was not previously available.

The Trust is a charity that exists purely to ‘provide and maintain a Recreation Ground for the inhabitants of Somerton’ with the aim of ‘improving the conditions of life for the said inhabitants’. The charity is already mainly self-funded with the large majority of its income coming from pitch fees; events and sponsorship and aims to run a financial model that secures the independent future of the Trust and the recreation it provides.

The Trust now wishes to examine the possibility to create a new pavilion with the potential to solve long standing changing facility challenges; provide new multi-use social and event space; develop new income streams and provide a new community recreation hub that would be used every day by all sections of the community.

The exact position is yet to be finalised, however Orme’s suggestion of the likely area is shown on the above plan. Key points which have informed the position of the pavilion to date - connection with main football and rugby pitch, connection with parking, encouraging social external space connected to pavilion without compromising pitches and positioning centrally within the site to maximise connection of the pavilion with all users. Further consideration of moving existing facilities will need to be considered in the next stages to minimise disturbance to local residents whilst also ensuring the pavilion is in the best position for users of the whole site and community.

The pavilion will house changing rooms for use by all sports. Smaller changing rooms will be provided to fulfil specific boarding bodies requirements for referees. Accessible toilets will be provided for all users of the recreation ground and members of the public.

We would be interested in receiving public comments/thoughts, before more detailed plans are developed. especially if you are a regular user of the facilities.

We welcome your thoughts on any part of the proposal as your feedback will be considered as part of the next design stage where we hope to:

• fix the exact position of the pavilion

• define exact room sizes and room requirements

• develop the overall look of the build to make it welcoming and inclusive to all the community

Please submit your comments using the form below or post to:

Orme Ltd
Mill Farm Barns
Tuckers Lane
Baltonsborough
Glastonbury
BA6 8RH