Hampshire County Council has awarded Hurstbourne Tarrant Development Trust £150,000 towards the cost of a new community centre.
Councillor Keith Chapman, Hampshire County Council’s Executive Member for Culture, Recreation and Countryside, awarded the money from the Community Buildings and Capital Fund 2013/14 at his decision day on Thursday 6 March 2014.
Partnership funding from the Community Buildings and Capital Fund enables the voluntary and community sector to maintain the quality of Hampshire’s village halls and Community Association buildings. This finance enables improvements to be made to those buildings and can assist with the development of new facilities where appropriate.
Recognising the value of these facilities for local communities, a year ago the County Council decided to set aside an additional £1 million to support some major community building projects. This is a one-off fund and it generated a lot of interest from local community groups who were invited to submit an Expression of Interest for a grant of up to £200,000. Of these, six have been awarded grants of varying amounts up to £200,000.
The only remaining community facility in Hurstbourne Tarrant, near Andover, is a 75 year old wooden ex-army hut which is no longer fit for purpose.
The main element planned for the new community centre, the total cost of which is £560,000, will be a multi-use hall of 130 square metres that will be designed to meet the requirements of a wide range of users. The new hall will have a stage which can be used by amateur dramatics groups and school functions, as well as dual gender changing areas, which will support a wide range of activities for people of all ages and abilities. Adequate storage, toilet and kitchen facilities are also planned.
The project is expected to benefit 2,000 residents from the village and surrounding areas.
Cllr Chapman said: “This grant funding will go towards replacing the wooden hut with a new, purpose built, energy efficient, and low maintenance community centre for the benefit of the inhabitants of Hurstbourne Tarrant and the wide community.”