WINCHESTER civic chiefs are backing plans to use money from developers for a road widening scheme in a city suburb.

But city councillors on the town forum are not supporting grants to a local sports organisation and for redevelopment at the Theatre Royal.

The forum supports spending £38,000 from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) on a revamped access road at Weeke Community Centre.

CIL is a charge on developers to support improvements in an area.

But the forum meeting did not support £16,500 on repairs to the Winchester Lido Sports Association (WLSA) which runs the ageing Lido building on Worthy Lane.

Forum chairman Anne Weir said: "CIL is for capital infrastructure not for maintenance and repairs."

Cllr Rose Burns, the local member for the Lido, said: "We feel the Lido should deserve a grant. They are up against it in terms of the building (deteriorating)."

The WLSA plans to spend £125,700 on a repair and refurbishment project.

Cllr Weir said there may be other ways for the council to financially help the association.

The Live Theatre Winchester Trust, which runs the Theatre Royal, applied for £48,000 in CIL grant for public realm improvements in Jewry Street, as part of a £894,000 revamp of the theatre reported by the Chronicle last year.

A council report said: "The application as put forward for Town CIL funding does not provide enough detail on public realm and other improvements which would deliver the type of benefit necessary to be satisfied that the scheme meets Town CIL protocol."