Kennington Parish Council
Playfield Road Playing Field Pavilion Rebuild
Public Consultation
As some of you may remember, a while ago the Parish Council consulted the village on a feasibility proposal for replacing the existing sports pavilion at Playfield Road.
As a result of this several themes emerged and were considered prior to the preparation of a planning application.
Whilst the application was approved, further development included an initial estimate which, upon consideration by the council, was beyond its purse.
Since that time further work has been carried out to reduce the required capital cost of the project, and these revised proposals were put before the village for its further comment.
These proposals were put to the village in 2024. The details of which can be found here
These revised proposals were submitted to Vale of White Horse District Council for planning approval, which was gained.
Since that time (and admittedly it is some time), the council has been re-thinking a way forward, to lower the costs involved on such a project; seeking advice from its architect as to current costings of the revised proposal and financial advice from Oxfordshire Association of Local Councils (OALC).
Given the sums necessary to carry out a project such as this it will be necessary for the council to borrow a significant sum from the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) – the only source from which the council is able to borrow.
To do this there are several steps to be taken to satisfy the PWLB that loaning the council this money is a good idea.
The first, and by no means the least of these steps is to consult Kennington as to its views, and these are very specific.
- Are you in favour of Kennington Parish Council Proceeding with the Playfield Road Playing Field Pavilion Rebuild Project
- Are you in favour of Kennington Parish Council proceeding with the Playfield Road Playing Field Pavilion Rebuild Project if it includes a council tax precept increase of 22% which is the equivalent of an additional £22 a year on a Band D property for the purpose of the annual loan repayments.
The purpose of this article is to initiate this consultation and to encourage everyone to participate in order that the council can gain a clear understanding of the view of Kennington regarding the redevelopment of the pavilion at Playfield Road.
As a reminder, and to aid you in your deliberations, particularly for newer villagers, the pavilion at Playfield Road sits on a site in the playing field that was given to Kennington Parish Council for public use by F.A. Sutton Esq. of Coventry and F.J. Minns Esq. of Oxford in July 1962. The original pavilion was constructed soon afterwards and refurbished in 1995 with grant funding from the Sports Council and the National Playing Fields Association.
Over the years the pavilion has been well used, particularly by the village cricket team and 2 Star England Football Accredited Football Club fielding teams in age groups from U7 to U16 together with two men’s teams, and a growing girl’s group. Kennington Football Club is growing from strength-to-strength with it now having a membership of over 300. More latterly with the demise of the Kennington Cricket Club, the council was able to provide a home to the 3rd and 4th teams of Wolvercote Cricket Club – a club without a home to call its own. This is proving to be a very successful alliance.
Sadly, with the passage of time and changing needs, the pavilion is not only dated and needing increasing sums of money to maintain it, but it does not meet the standards expected of not only the people that use it but also the needs demanded in the 21st century.
The proposed rebuild seeks to address these issues in the following ways
- Increase parking provision
- Utilise waste land to the rear of the existing pavilion
- Modernise the changing facilities to cater for multi-use
- Accessible toilets and changing facilities
- Outside toilet with dawn to dusk locking for users of the field and play area
- Potential for eco-friendly solutions
- Provision of light and airy social space for village use
The intent of the consultation is to reach into every corner of the village by whatever means available. It will be possible to express your view either by removing the survey from your copy of the Kennington Chronicle and using the drop-off letter box inside the Village Centre, by emailing the Clerk to the Parish Council (), by completing the survey using the following link https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/R7MW7PQ or using the QR code below (please note that the deadline for Consultation Responses is 11th October 2026. Any survey responses received after the deadline will be disregarded).
Obviously, the cost of the project is beyond the capability of local fundraising but be assured that the council will be pursuing any grant giving organisation with all due diligence. But if anyone has an insight into this world and potential funding opportunities the council would be pleased to hear from you.
The council thanks you for taking the time to read this article and sincerely hopes that you will feel sufficiently motivated to respond by one of the means available by no later than the 11th October 2026.
Lawrence Wootten
Clerk to Kennington Parish Council
