A DALES village is celebrating after being awarded a share of a £17m grant which will pay for a long-awaited new sports pavilion.

Burton-in-Lonsdale Parish Council has been given £50,000 from the National Lottery, after tireless fundraising and work by members of the community, to pay for facilities on Bentham Moor Road.

The money will now enable it to install changing rooms, a kitchen and a social room, as well as equipment storage for a number of different sports.

“We are delighted,” said Burton-in-Lonsdale Parish Council chairman, Ian Thompson.

“This has been in the pipeline for so long and a lot of people in the village are now thrilled.”

Local people have been attempting to raise money for the pavilion since 2006.

In the last two years around £10,000 has been raised by residents, and an application has been submitted twice previously for cash from the Sport England’s Inspired Facilities fund.

On the third attempt the village was given the green light for the cash but was told to keep it under wraps until this month.

This has now triggered several other organisations coming forward with money.

“We’ve got enough now to be confident in moving forward with the project,” continued Coun Thompson.

“When we’ve firmed up the design we’ll be approachiong builders for quotations as we’re hoping to keep the work in the local area.”

The project still needs planning permission from Craven District Council, following a consultation period which will end on May 2.

Coun Thompson said he hopes the facilities will be up and running for the start of the football season in September.

District councillor for the area, Linda Brockbank, hailed the news.

“It’s absolutely fantastic,” she said. “I’ve been supporting them all along for this, ever since I was elected, so I’m so pleased for them.

“They’re trying their best to provide facilities and they’re doing fine with what they’ve got, but they want to improve them to get more use of the recreation ground and improve facilities for the people who use them.”

Area MP, Julian Smith, added: “I am delighted that Burton-in-Lonsdale Parish Council has been awarded National Lottery funding to build a new sports pavilion.

“It will ensure that the lasting legacy of the London 2012 Olympics continues to be felt and mean that more people, of all ages, have the facilities they need to get involved in sport."