ALMOST half a million pounds in funding could be coming to Williton and Watchet to boost sporting, tourism and community facilities.

The money could unlock other funding opportunities for the two schemes, which together will cost £1.6 million to bring to fruition.

Williton Parish Council is hoping to secure £250,000 for the Williton Pavilion Project while the Onion Collective is bidding for £243,119 to revamp Watchet Boat Museum and tourism facilities in the town.

The funding would come from the Hinkley C Community Impact Fund, which has been paid for by EDF Energy to offset the impact of site preparation works at Hinkley Point.

West Somerset Council holds the purse strings to the pot and cabinet members will be the first to discuss the applications next Wednesday, before a final decision is made by the full council later in the month.

If approved, both groups would only receive the funding subject to a number of conditions, including securing additional money to cover the entire project costs.

The £1.3 million Williton Pavilion scheme wants to create a central hub for sport, leisure and social facilities in a single, multi-use community building on the Memorial Ground.

The centre would include changing facilities and a public space for indoor sports and social activities, while being fully accessible to people of all ages and abilities.

In its application for money, the parish council said Williton would act as a main transport hub for the additional workforce that would be needed to build Hinkley C due to the park and ride facility planned nearby at Washford Cross.

The council said the impact of a new roundabout, which is being built on the A39 to serve the new park and ride, was already being felt in the village.

This included the loss of on-street parking, a drop in business takings, bus service delays, additional traffic and congestion.

"It is likely that workers and families will locate within Williton, creating a need for additional services and community facilities.

"The project aims to mitigate these impacts by increasing the leisure facilities available locally, providing additional disabled parking spaces and improving pedestrian links to the War Memorial Ground," the council said.

The disruption and congestion caused by additional traffic is also the focus of the application from members of the not-for-profit social enterprise regeneration group the Onion Collective.

They said the town's economy was dependent on the tourism industry and traders were already feeling the impact of the roundabout works at Washford Cross.

The collective said in its application: "Watchet will suffer significantly from reduced visitors due to traffic congestion and negative perceptions of the area leading to negative socio-economic impacts.

"Watchet is also likely to be a settlement area for workers and families, creating more community need and increasing transport issues."

The group's £243,119 bid would cover more than half of the money needed for a £365,619 overhaul of the town's boat museum, which would also include new visitor services and new civic offices for Watchet Town Council.

The town council has already pledged £52,500 to cover its side of the costs, while the remaining £70,000 could come from a bid to the LEADER Power to Change fund.

The money would cover three distinct aspects of work at the museum, with the first being the building itself.

The collective wants to modernise the existing property to bring "light and life" into the museum and provide a more attractive frontage for visitors arriving in the town.

The existing lean-to taxi office would be demolished with alternative accommodation offered to operator Cliff's Cabs within a new visitor centre extension on the North East side.

The extension would form the second element of the work on the seaward-facing side of the building and would include an open space for use as a visitor centre, as well as for town council meetings and for use by other community groups.

The extension would house a new town council office, doubling the size of the existing facilities, as well as toilets, a kitchen and store room.

The third part of the project would focus on creating new public realm space and pathways, including a second phase of work which would be dependent on funding.

This could include a raised pathway alongside the car park and railway line to take visitors from Goviers Lane to the visitor centre and the removal of the old bus shelter, new paving and other works.