Burwell Community Sports Centre has received a Community Sports Fund grant of £48,000 towards the £63,000 cost of replacing a worn-out sports hall floor.
The centre’s sports hall currently provides a venue for activities including badminton, roller-hockey, table tennis, cricket and football, plus many other groups and targeted programmes to benefit the community.
The new flooring will provide a step-change in the range and quality of sports the centre is able to offer, including new opportunities such as pickleball.
It will also help to support wellbeing partnerships such as the Healthy You programme for adults, and Burwell Action for Youth.
The work is expected to take place during the summer and last for two weeks.
It is being carried out as part of larger development plan for the sports centre which to date has included improvements to an exercise and dance studio, re-surfacing an outdoor training pitch, replacing light fittings and installing solar panels, air sourced heating and EV charging facilities.
The grant has been awarded under East Cambridgeshire District Council’s £300,000 Community Sport Fund Scheme. The fund was created to enable leisure providers to make sustainable improvements to the facilities they offer residents.
To date £252,000 has been allocated, with grants going to Ross Peers Sports Centre in Soham which received £179,500 for replacing its sports hall roof; Ely Outdoor Sports Association, which received £39,100 towards the refurbishment of the toilet areas and £10,000 towards new padel courts, and Littleport Leisure, which was awarded £12,000 for the refurbishment of the sports hall floor and £11,400 for the redevelopment of a second gym.
Councillor Julia Huffer, Chair of the Operational Services Committee which approved the grant at its meeting on 23 March 2026, said: ““We are delighted to be in a position to support Burwell Community Sports Centre.
“The sports hall supports Burwell and the surrounding communities with participants travelling from across the district to access some of the specific clubs.
“This project will provide an opportunity to get more people active, support residents health and wellbeing and increase participation levels at the centre.”
Quentin Cooke, Chair of Trustees at Burwell Community Sports Centre, said: “The Sports Centre has been here as a community asset since the 1980s, and the sports hall has become an essential facility for a wide range of activities including badminton, roller hockey, cricket training, a table tennis club, junior sports coaching, and recreational daytime sessions.
“A consistent and comfortable playing surface is essential, so renewal of the floor is now our top priority. It will help us not only to maintain these programmes, but also to develop new activities and ultimately help secure the future of the Centre.
“The offer of a capital grant from East Cambridgeshire District Council is vital for this, and this news is hugely welcome. With this support, we can finalise our plans for the project and we hope to carry out the renewal of the floor during this coming summer, ready for the autumn programme.”