POUNDBURY'S Great Field is to get a sports pavilion with a cafe, community space and toilets.

The decision has been welcomed by the town council planning committee although some believe it could become a night-time gathering place for youngsters.

The building, which looks like a traditional cricket pavilion, is proposed off an existing pathway which crosses the Great Field, close to a play area.

It is being paid for by the charity, Alcohol Education Trust, who work with young people to teach them about alcohol and its risks. It will have offices on the first floor.

The charity says its mission is to “engage children of all abilities and backgrounds before they begin drinking, in order to help them build resilience skills, to know how to avoid and resist situations and to look after themselves and each other in a variety of settings.”

Plans before councillors show a cafe with seating for twenty of more people, a kitchen and toilets.

The building has a pitched roof with slate covering, timber clad walls and a covered veranda.

The café will serve hot and cold drinks, cakes, salads and sandwiches as well as simple hot food such as soup, toasties and jacket potatoes which will be prepared and cooked on the premises. The café does not plan to have deep fat fryers but will have an oven, microwave and electric hotplates for food preparation.

Cllr Fiona Kent-Ledger questioned whether there was a need for the building and said the committee should ask about how people with limited mobility would reach the first floor offices.

Cllr Susie Hosford said that plans for a Pavilion had always been included in the master plan for the area and said that it would be welcomed, if for no other reason, because it addressed the need for toilets at the field, provided they were available when people needed them.

Cllr Molly Rennie also questioned disabled access to the first floor and suggested that, if approved, security lighting might need to be considered.

“This is in a vulnerable position. I can see that it will become a gathering place,” she said.

A final decision on the application will be made by either West Dorset District Council or the new Dorset Council depending on whether it considered before, or after, the end of March.

The application is open for public comment until March 26th.

For further information about the charity - www.alcoholeducationtrust.org