Mumbles Community Council granted £840,000 loan from Welsh Government to progress ‘Go Underhill’ project

Mumbles Community Council (MCC) have announced that borrowing approval has been received from the Welsh Government to progress the Go Underhill project.

MCC applied for a loan of £840,000 and approval was granted this morning. A legal agreement between the council and Mumbles Community Association (MCA) will be set up to allow MCA to drive the project forward to the building phase.

Chair of MCC, Cllr Dr Martin O’Neill commented, “This announcement represents another significant step toward Mumbles Community Council realising their ambitious plans in relation to significantly upgrading sports and leisure facilities in the area. Working in close partnership with MCA, we will seek to ensure that Underhill Park will become a real asset for the people of Mumbles and surrounding areas and will provide facilities that we can all take pride in.”

Simon Tse, Chair of Mumbles Community Association said, “This is thrilling news for Go Underhill as it means that the funding is in place for a large part of the planned development. As soon as all the legal agreements are in place, MCA will be ready to move forward into the building phase of the project, and we are delighted to have worked closely with MCC to achieve this result. We are grateful to all the Mumbles Community Councillors for their support, and their confidence in MCA’s ability to deliver the transformation which will ensure Underhill Park is an asset for the whole community.

There is work still to be done to fund all the elements the community want in the park, including the all-weather pitch. MCA Trustees and supporters are working hard to secure additional grants, donations and sponsorship to enable us to deliver these.”

The next steps include seeking approval for a non-material amendment to planning application, approval for SuDS (Sustainable Drainage System) and gaining building regulations approval. A grant application has also been submitted to the Welsh Government’s Community Facilities Programme which, if approved, will enable the additional two changing rooms to be built. It is hoped that a decision will be received by the end of March.

In a facebook post Cllr Myles Langstone, the Conservative Senedd Candidate for Gower said: “This is an amazing project for our community and I look forward to this progressing, along with Go Underhill (MCA) who will drive the project forward to the building phase.”

More information about the project can be found at: https://go-underhill.com/

(Lead image: Mumbles Community Council)