A DECISION whether to provide a £250,000 safety net for the planned development of Neyland Athletic Club will be taken by cabinet members on Monday (November 30).

Ambitious plans to transform the club into a ‘21st century community hub’ are expected to cost more than £2million.

The money will be raised through investment from Neyland Town Council - who will sell its current office and move into the new building - lottery funding, the Welsh Government, and other sources.

But the project is still expected to suffer a shortfall of around £250,000, and cabinet members will be asked whether they agree to fund this shortfall, should the project be successful in raising the rest of the money.

In order to plug this funding gap, the county council could either sell off the former Neyland Community School, day centre and youth centre site, which could raise around £285,000.

Selling the site would also mean the council would save around £26,000 a year in empty property taxes.

Another option would be for the council to be able to use the new building as a venue to deliver its own services.

This would also mean that other council-owned or used buildings in the town could be sold off, which would generate money for the authority, and reduce maintenance and running costs for those buildings.

In September, Cabinet members backed a request from Neyland Community Interest Company (CIC) to borrow £190,000 from the council’s reserves to help tide the project over until the town council – who will have a dedicated office at the new building - can sell its existing building, and four plots on the site are sold.

A full planning application for the scheme has been submitted to Pembrokeshire County Council, and a decision is expected before the end of the year.