THE arson-hit pavilion at Dowlish Wake will rise from the ashes after its custodians secured a whopping £10,000 grant – the final instalment of their fundraising mission.

Trustees and supporters of the Dowlish Wake Playing Field Trust have been busy raising the mammoth £165,000 needed to rebuild the venue after disaster struck in October 2016.

But the village team is now in jubilant mood after their application for the money from the Chard and Ilminster News was successful. Trust chairman Mike Lane said: “This has turned out to be a £165,000 project and the £10,000 from the Gannett Foundation will complete the final amount we needed”

But he said there is still more fund raising to be done for a new kitchen and items such as tables and chairs. Mike added: “By coincidence we have just heard the Tesco store in Ilminster will feature our appeal for funds towards our new kitchen in January 2018. Despite the celebratory mood we still have a lot to do before the building opens, probably in the spring, but at least we can see now that we are in the final stretch”

Most readers will have seen the Tesco donation system in operation whereby shoppers are given green tokens at the checkouts which they then give to one of three community projects. Trustee Mario Ruiz, project manager for the construction, paid tribute to architect Chris Baranowski and main contractor, Coombes, of Ilminster.

Mario said: “We have had quite a few problems to overcome as the build has progressed but everyone has been very helpful and co-operative. Even with this grant we will be still doing some finishing jobs with volunteer labour but at least we know we can pay for the materials now.”

The Dowlish Wake Playing Field Trust was among a number of community organisations to apply for funding from the Gannett Foundation – a scheme run by Gannett International which owns Newsquest, the Chard and Ilminster News’ parent company.

Paul Jones, editor of the Chard and Ilminster News, said: “We know how much the community valued the pavilion, so it is fantastic that we’ve been able to help it rise again. “Congratulations to everyone involved in a remarkable community effort.”