A SCHEME to deliver new sporting and community facilities in Williton could be on the verge of moving a step closer. Parish councillors are behind a bid to build a new pavilion and multi-use games area on the village's Memorial Ground. And West Somerset Council's planning committee will be recommended to approve the proposal at its meeting next Thursday (June 26). The new facilities, likely to cost around £830,000, would see the construction of a glass-fronted building with a 415-metre footprint, providing space for a badminton court and a community area seating 150 people for a meeting or 100 for a function. It would also include a kitchen with a serving hatch out onto the ground, changing rooms, showers and toilets, while the 18 metre by 35 metre multi-use games area is expected to be available for tennis, basketball, netball and possibly five-a-side football. In a report to councillors, planning officer Michael Hicks says the pavilion would be sited at the north western end of the ground and would have rendered walls and a natural slate roof. A vehicular access is proposed from Robert Street, with six disabled parking spaces near the eastern boundary of the site. Mr Hicks says the pavilion is designed primarily to provide ancillary facilities for the existing playing field with the expectation of attracting new teams and clubs to the site. "Overall, the pavilion is considered to supplement the existing sport and recreational use of the playing field, would be open to the community and is likely to encourage greater use of the Memorial Ground and participation in local sporting activities," he says. The proposed multi-games area would open up an area of land currently not in public use so overall there would be little or no net loss of open space. Mr Hicks says the scale, design and materials of the pavilion are acceptable, as is the impact of the development on residential amenity and on the setting of nearby listed buildings. However, he says it is acknowledged that there would be some impact on 32 to 36 Robert Street and 28 to 30 Long Street. The pavilion would be located on land classified as a flood zone two, while some of the vehicular access would be in flood zone three. Mr Hicks says it is understood the parish council has been looking at potential locations for a community facility for years and no other sites were reasonably available within the preferred flood zone one so siting the development within zone two was considered acceptable. The scheme sparked a total of 42 written comments from the public - 26 in favour and 16 against. Supporters highlight the local need for the facility and the benefits it would deliver. But opponents raise concern about the scale of the proposed pavilion, its impact on the surroundings and its modern design. Other objections focus on flood risk, the lack of parking spaces and the potential increase in noise and disturbance. If councillors agree the recommendation to approve the proposal, delegated authority to grant planning permission will be given to the council's assistant director of planning and environment, subject to amendments to ensure the sub-division of vehicles and pedestrians along the access off Robert Street and a raft of conditions.