It was the dying wish of a long-serving parish councillor and now fellow members of the parish he served are hoping to turn that dream into reality in his memory.

Arthur Mercer, who died last month aged 90, was in the crowd when Chart Sutton’s sports pavilion was officially opened on Coronation Day in 1953.

Almost 56 years on, the ageing pavilion has fallen into a state of disrepair and one of the projects Mr Mercer was involved in up until his death, was fund-raising to built a new one.

Although Mr Mercer didn’t live to attend a second pavilion opening in the village, members of Chart Sutton Parish Council plan to raise the £60,000 needed to build the new structure and call it the Arthur Mercer Pavilion in his memory.

Cllr Mike FitzGerald (Ind), a Maidstone borough councillor who lives in the village, said: “The pavilion would be far more than just a sports facility.

“We want it to be a community space for young people, old people, children, families, everyone. We’ve decided that if we can get it built, we’re going to call it the Arthur Mercer Pavilion. Arthur was such a lovely man.

“He loved Chart Sutton and he wanted the community to benefit from a new pavilion.”

Mr Mercer, who attended Sutton Valence School and worked as a post office telephones engineer all his life, apart from his wartime service with the Royal Corps of Signals, became a parish councillor in 1984 and his 25-year service included eight years as chairman.

A keen historian and archivist, Mr Mercer was married to Clarissa and the pair, who had two daughters, ran a small-holding growing fruit and keeping Jacob sheep in their spare time.

Video

Last summer, he raised cash for the pavilion fund at the village fete with his daughter Joanna and friends, and was also informed by the pavilion sub-committee shortly before his death that a planning application for the pavilion was about to be submitted.

To demonstrate the condition of the current pavilion, which has a leaking roof and mouldy walls, a video has been prepared for free by Kersh Media, by former BBC news producer Graham Majin

Mr Majin said: “Like many small, rural communities, Chart Sutton is fighting hard to keep its sense of community alive.

“The village post office and shop closed in 2007, and a new pavilion could become a new focus for village life.”