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A football club has led a community takeover of a playing field and pavilion in Wattsville, under the latest plans for Caerphilly County Borough Council to offload its surplus assets.

Wattsville Community Group, a registered charity established by Wattsville FC, has been handed control of Wattsville Recreational Field and Pavilion as part of a Community Asset Transfer (CAT).

It sees two football pitches handed over to the group from the council.

CATs allow interested community groups to take over responsibilities for managing and running assets no longer required by the local authority.

Caerphilly Council recently launched a “refreshed” approach to CATs that it hopes will help trim its estate and bring unused or unwanted buildings or assets back into community use.

Part of that overhaul included the hiring of a specialist officer to help groups through the process.

“Prior to the CAT process, we struggled to get funding and manage the facilities the way we wanted to,” said Wayne Brinkley, who chairs Wattsville Community Group and is the football club’s secretary.

“CAT has opened up access to so much more funding opportunities and allowed us to level up considerably,” he added.

“Personally, it’s very exciting – we’re developing so fast, and the club has benefited so much.”

The council has also welcomed the agreement for the Wattsville pavilion and sports fields.

“We’re delighted Wattsville Community Group has completed the Community Asset Transfer,” a spokesperson said. “This gives the group greater control of the facilities, opens up funding opportunities, and allows them to provide more activities for the local community.”

Other recent CATs in the borough include a building in Rhymney which is expected to become a community gym, a disused toilet block in central Risca which is set to become a cafe and community space, and a patch of land – also in Risca – where a series of community groups wish to set up a multi-use outdoor space for activities ranging from beekeeping to bushcraft.

The council is also hoping CATs will be used to save some of the ten at-risk libraries across the borough which are threatened by closure, as part of cost-cutting measures.

A recent report showed there was community interest in a handful of the sites – but the closure plans have also been criticised by some opponents who claim the council should not expect residents to run their own libraries.

Any final decision on the libraries’ future is currently on hold pending the outcome of a legal challenge lodged by a campaigner against the closure plans.