Shropshire riding centre costs hit £1.8 million

The cost of the Cavalier Centre on the outskirts of Much Wenlock has almost doubled in the space of a year.

Members of the Perry Riding for the Disabled group need to raise the cash to fund the new centre as they have been served a notice to leave their existing site at Yeaton, near Shrewsbury, by the end of the year.

Last year members of the group said £1 million was needed with the potential for costs to rise to £1.3 million.

Once built, the centre will be a designated Riding for the Disabled Association venue run as a not-for-profit venture. It will offer horse riding and carriage driving for people with physical and intellectual disabilities and will also host activities such as disability cricket training, wheelchair archery, para modern pentathlon training.

Jane Barker, who runs the Perry RDA group, said: "This facility is badly needed as over the past few years too many of the group's training sessions have been affected by the weather."

"Planning permission for the new facility was granted last December and work is now under way filling in the necessary funding applications and developing a strategy for the funding campaign."