Cash-strapped Swindon Borough Council will put a further £1 million into the development of a major sports hub in Moredon.

The council has already budgeted £5.2m on the project, which will see a simple recreation ground transformed into a multi-sports hub with some facilities unique in Swindon.

At Wednesday’s meeting of the Conservative cabinet, members agreed to increase that funding to £6.3m to ensure to project gets off the ground.

Members unanimously passed the capital spending strategy which includes: “Cabinet previously approved an increase in the budget to £5.235m. Since this time, tender returns have identified that this sum is insufficient to deliver the full scope of works required to maintain external grant funding, which is now estimated to cost in the region of £6.3m."

The project is funded by a number of external grants which include Sport England, the Football Foundation, and Central Swindon North Parish Council, which is providing £600,000 as a capital contribution to this scheme, and in particular to a purpose-built pavilion with meeting and youth facilities.

Other funding sources include a £250,000 PFI grant for youth activities alongside a variety of section 106 contributions (from developers).

“The single largest element of funding relates to the capital receipt, which is ring-fenced to the Moredon project, from the sale of developable land next to the site which has now been marketed and is expected to deliver a receipt in excess of that assumed in the original budget.”

After the meeting, council leader David Renard said: “It’s important that we keep up the momentum on this and deliver it.

“The costs of materials has significantly increased and we are inviting tenders and found we needed to increase the budget.

“This is a long-term project and we want to bring it to fruition and we want to get contractors on site and working on it as soon as possible.”

When work starts it will transform what is now a large open recreation field with an old pavilion and construct a full-size, enclosed floodlit 3G pitch, two further turf football pitches and two cricket pitches and a kilometre-long closed road cycling circuit with a number of internal loops and cross over points – allows for three separate groups to use the track at one time 

There will also be a BMX pump track, a learn-to-ride enclosed course for youngsters and the existing croquet lawns will be retained and a new pavilion and improved parking built.