SIR: I was very saddened to see the recent stories regarding a seeming change of stance from WCC on the support for the Pavilion Project (Chronicles, December 24 and 31).

This was supported by a fantastic community engagement group that raised hundreds of thousands of pounds through a mixture of local fundraising and national grant and fund application to enable provision of a replacement pavilion for the North Walls sports fields.

The new pavilion project had the support of not only all the local sports teams that use the fields, but community groups such as Park Run, mothers and toddlers groups, local fitness businesses as well as residents from across the district.

Many people gave freely of their time and energy over the years to enable this project to get to this point - and it is madness to allow it to flounder now.

Surely the council can get together with the trustees of the Pavilion Project team to ensure that the money they have raised, and the skills and time they have devoted to this project are not wasted. From project managers, to business leaders and architects - there is a huge amount of experience in that team that enabled the original design to be created, and money raised to support the development of it - surely we cannot see this wasted at the first hurdle, it cannot be beyond the wit of man (or the wider community team) to help get past these current hurdles and get the project back on track.

I really hope Winchester City Council sits down soon with the community and the Pavilion Project team to bring the project to completion.

TC Dunlop,

Swan Lane,

Winchester