A £75,000 project to improve and modernise Watchet’s multi-use games area (MUGA) on the Memorial Ground has been officially opened, replacing a facility that was ‘in desperate need of a revamp’.

Fifty per cent of the new development was funded by a Somerset West and Taunton Council Section 106 funding grant, and the rest by Watchet Town Council.

The project, spearheaded by the town council’s clerical officer, Jo Grellier, involved laying all-purpose flooring, a new wired enclosure, basketball hoops, floodlighting, and markings for five-a-side football, basketball and netball. Freestanding netball posts are also available.

A Watchet Town Council spokesman said: “It was our ambition to create an inviting and exciting outdoor space for the community, and address the mobility and deprivation problems that exist.

“The new facility is a legacy for the late Cllr Sally de Renzy-Martin, who was the lead councillor in installing the first MUGA, 35 years ago.”

Cllr Loretta Whetlor, chairman of the council’s tourism and leisure committee, said: “I think it is a great facility and something Watchet deserves. We have waited a long time and it was well worth the wait.

“I hope everyone who uses it enjoys and respects it. Thank you to the officers and councillors at Watchet Town Council for getting this up and running.”