A Suffolk school and a Norfolk cricket club were big winners in the Persimmon Building Futures charity competition.

The Building Futures £1million fund encouraged applications in three categories – education & arts, health, and sport – to compete in a national online vote.

Lowestoft’s Warren Association Trust and Great Melton Cricket Club each scooped £50,000 as runners-up in the education and sport categories.

Both organisations explain what this funding means to them in a short video

The Warren Association Trust is fundraising to create a ‘Special Playground for a Special School’ – equipped with musical instruments and play apparatus to be enjoyed by students with severe and profound learning difficulties or sensory impairments.

Jenny Cockrill, trust chairperson, said: “We are completely overwhelmed by winning such a huge sum of money and cannot thank Persimmon Homes enough. This £50,000 will make such a difference to the school, helping us to provide a safe sensory space for the children to enjoy and explore.

Great Melton Cricket Club is a Clubmark accredited village club with seven senior teams, including a women’s team and eight junior teams, that include U11 and U13 girls.

Chairman Steve Phoenix said: “We have seen a large increase in the number of women and girls wanting to take up cricket.  The club has been fundraising to extend and improve the present changing and toilet facilities and make the pavilion more welcoming and accessible to our female members. This fantastic donation from Persimmon Homes will enable us to bring our plans to fruition so much sooner and help girls to establish and maintain a lifelong habit of healthy sporting activity.”

Members of Great Melton Cricket Club jump for joy at winning £50,000 from Persimmon Homes in the Building Futures charity competition to fund new changing rooms for the club’s female players.

Norwich-based bereavement charity Nelson’s Journey also received £5,000 as the Anglia region’s finalist in the health category of the competition.