A £400,00 grant for a £1.6 million Watchet project which would provide major new community and sporting facilities, was recommended to be turned down by West Somerset Council’s cabinet – despite claims that it was urgently needed in the town.

Watchet Bowling Club had applied for Hinkley Point Community Impact Mitigation (CIM) funding for an ambitious scheme involving a new community hall, an open access gym, disabled facilities, a bar and a new indoor bowling green with two rinks.

Cabinet members were told that major new housing schemes and the impact of Hinkley Point workers on the town highlighted Watchet’s need for major changes in community and social infrastructure.

Supporters of the bowling club scheme claimed there was an urgent need for a wider range of community activities and all-weather sporting and fitness facilities to cater for an influx of residents moving into several hundred new houses.

But at their meeting last Wednesday (March 7), cabinet members backed a recommendation from the Hinkley Point C Planning Obligations Board (POB)to turn down the application.

Watchet Bowling Club chairman Mike Webber said the club was “devastated” by the decision but would make another application.

Lisa Redston, community and housing impact lead, told cabinet members: “There was not enough evidence in the business plan to prove it was a sustainable project. There is still some work to do.”

She said the POB had recognised the potential of the Watchet community to grow as a result of the development of the new power station, but there were concerns about the robustness and governance of the project.

The board also had doubts about assumptions made in the business plan about the number of people likely to use the new buildings, about the amount of funding requested and the sustainability of the project.

Cabinet members were told that over 20 organisations supported the scheme, including Watchet Town Council, local doctors, Watchet Coastal Community team, and potential local users.

The applicants had stressed that there was a need for stronger leisure, community and social activities and that, if successful, the project would attract £1.2 million into the area and provide substantial benefits for the community.