A CHANGE of mind by West Somerset Council has given Watchet Bowling Club another chance to bid for Hinkley Point CIM funding.

The club’s bid for a £400,000 grant towards a £1.6 million project to provide a major new community and sports centre in Watchet had been recommended for refusal by the council’s cabinet and last Wednesday’s full council meeting was expected to rubber-stamp that.

But councillors had second thoughts after hearing pleas from supporters of the scheme who claimed there was an urgent need for more social and sports facilities to cater for residents moving into hundreds of new houses in the town.

Instead of voting on a Hinkley Point C Planning Obligations Board (POB) recommendation “not to approve the application from Watchet Bowling Club gym and community facility”, members accepted an amendment by Watchet mayor Cllr Peter Murphy.

This added the words “...at the present time. To request that council officers offer to work with Watchet Bowling Club in order to assist them in the preparation of a revised bid to the fund in due course.”

Bowling club chairman Mike Webber said: “We were devastated by the original decision to turn us down, but since then we have had a tremendous amount of support and encouragement to work towards putting in another application for CIM money.

“We will be working with Andrew Goodchild, the council’s assistant director, energy infrastructure, to make sure the revised application ticks all the boxes.

“We can only reapply once, so it’s vital that this time we get everything right.”

Full report in the Free Press