MEPAL Recreation Field will be available for use all year round for sports and recreation, thanks to a £25,000 grant. The cash has come from the landfill tax credit scheme, which gives companies 90 per cent tax credits for donations to environmental group

MEPAL Recreation Field will be available for use all year round for sports and recreation, thanks to a £25,000 grant.

The cash has come from the landfill tax credit scheme, which gives companies 90 per cent tax credits for donations to environmental groups, and will allow work to begin later this month.

It is the first step in a £230,000 project to provide a new village pavilion with modern facilities for teams and individuals who use the recreation field.

Mepal Sports Action Group has worked closely with Mepal Parish Council to raise funds and spearhead the project.

Parish council chairman, Elizabeth Stazicker, said: "The recreation field is well used but the clay soil can cause problems during the winter .

"The new drainage system will ensure that people have the best possible conditions to play on, and the proposed new pavilion will add the finishing touch to what promises to be a fantastic community facility. It is vital for the health of individuals and the community as a whole that there is provision for all ages."

The grant came from Donarbon, which owns the waste management park at Waterbeach. Support for the improvement scheme has also come from The Football Foundation and East Cambridgeshire District Council and local fund-raising.