Shoreham: The Mary Inniss Pavilion

Saturday saw the Shoreham Village Fete, and I was delighted to be asked to open the Mary Inniss Pavilion attached to Shoreham Village School.

The previous, more modest facilities suffered a fire some years ago. Mary Inniss, the long-serving Chair of Governors at the School (to whom I paid a tribute after her death in 2012), was committed to ensuring a new Pavilion for the use of both the school and community.

The project proved to be a long-running one but has now been delivered. A number of Heads and Governors at the School have given the project their support. Funding came from Corey Environmental Trust, a significant bequest from Mary's estate, from my Member Community Grant (as it then was) and other local KCC grants which I persuaded my colleagues to support. I also worked with KCC's legal team to ensure that all the necessary legal work was completed to deliver the project.

On Saturday I opened the Pavilion in the company of Richard, Mary's husband, and Gillian Lovatt-Young, who has driven such remarkable progress at the Village School. Given Mary's commitment to the School and to Shoreham, it is entirely appropriate that the Pavilion bears her name.