Wiveliscombe Recreation Ground is back to offering a full range of activities, with a smart new car park surface and outdoor exercise equipment ready to greet summer arrivals.

The swimming pool is open, following careful Covid-19 precautions, cricket has joined tennis as a summer offering for players and spectators alike, and the whole green space is now open for use.

A grant of £20,000 from Viridor Credits and more than £4,500 contributed by the Rec Trustees, management committee and the ground’s resident sports club made resurfacing work possible on the car park area.

New outdoor exercise equipment, thanks to a £3,000 grant from the Co-Op complements the refurbished Pavilion, which has now been completed with stylish wooden windows. 

The pool re-opened on July 18, with online booking in place for lanes. Full details are available on the pool’s website, wiveypool.net

The tennis club has been operating for several weeks under strict conditions introduced by the Lawn Tennis Association, with both doubles and singles games now permitted.

Cricket has resumed, with the rest of the season dedicated to friendlies, with youth cricket also lined up. And there are high hopes for rugby in the autumn.

“The resurfacing work will make a massive difference to this community-run recreation ground and now makes our facilities more readily accessed by those with mobility impairments,” said Mike Keal, vice-chairman of the Rec management committee, which is celebrating its centenary this year. The generous contribution from Viridor Credits and our local clubs made this much-needed project possible.”