The people of Wroughton have spoken.

And they have come out decisively in favour of building a new, improved pavilion at the playing fields in Maunsell Way.

A poll of all the villagers was held on Wednesday on the matter – 714 people voted for the nerve pavilion, while 202 voted against, with two void papers, that’s a 78 per cent vote in favour.

The 918 votes represents a 14.9 per cent turn out of eligible voters.

John Hewer is the chairman of Wroughton Parish Council – which originally proposed the upgrade to the pavilion.

He said: “We are pleased to have got the backing for the plan – but we must take into account the views of everybody, including the 200 people who voted against it.

“We can’t just ride roughshod over their views and carry on.”

The council’s plans show the new building will be significantly bigger than the existing simple pavilion, which is used by Wroughton Youth FC, the scouts and cubs and might also become home for Wroughton youth club

It will have a split-level roof and one side will be the main hall, and the other will be divided into two rooms to be used by groups of younger children.

There will also be a protected play garden for younger children, and an outdoor space which can be used occasionally by the scouts for assembling and collecting camping equipment and the like. There will also be a lavatory block which will be accessible from the outside without having to open up the whole building.

A new car park will also be constructed.

Mr Hewer said: “Access to the car park will be controlled, at the moment there are a lot of problems caused by people parking in the streets near the pavilion.

“Some of the concerns raised by neighbours are about parking and also flooding, with more of the fields being built on. We will have to make sure we address those concerns and try and get as many people on board as possible.

“We will consider the results and the plans in full council, and then will be talking to planning officers at the borough council, and when their feedback comes back, we’ll move towards a full planning application. But if 200 individual objections were made against it, that would attract notice at the planning department, so it’s something we need to work on.”

Youth groups who use the pavilion were pleased at the result.

John Brown, the chairman of the youth football club said: “I think common sense has prevailed.” The club tend to use the pavilion just for storage of goals and equipment, and Mr Brown said the indoor space mattered more to other groups, but added: “We wanted this to be improved for the benefit of the youth of the village.”

A spokesman for 1st Wroughton Scouts said: “We have been working with Wroughton Parish Council, Wroughton Youth Football Club, Wroughton Youth Club and other community groups. We have fundraised £100,000 over many years to contribute to this joint project to support the children and young people of Wroughton.”

The council said the costs of building an improved pavilion would be found from grant funding and by donations from community groups.

The costs of running and maintaining it, once, built, will come from fees paid by local groups which use it.

Some residents were concerned that not enough would come in to keep up the pavilion, and the costs would be added to the council's tax precept.

The plans, when put forward, will still have to be approved by the borough council's planners.