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Windfall for Limehurst community
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| Wednesday 19th December 2007 |
The residents of Limehurst are welcoming a windfall of £190,000 of government funding to finance a single story extension to a community venue run by the Limehurst Tenants and Residents Association (LTARA).
Limehurst Village Trust, part of the Regenda Group, successfully applied for the funding so that local residents could benefit from enhancing the existing facilities that have been available at the hall.
The hall has proved to be very important in providing a unique venue in the area; allowing community groups to meet at an affordable rate as well as providing a sanctuary for local children, young people and older residents to meet and take part in social and leisure activities.
However, the venue had its limitations in terms of size which made it impossible to facilitate disabled residents or offer much sought after activities such as fitness classes.
Helen Barnes, Neighbourhood Renewal Manager for the Regenda Group explained why it was so important to secure the funding to enable the go ahead of the extension: "We wanted to make the hall large enough for more groups to be able to share it, with individual areas for groups to keep their own equipment. In addition, the Hollinwood Voluntary Forum who support local community groups, will be sharing the building and setting up a number of computers for community use."
The cash windfall will be used to construct a single storey extension to the back of the existing building which effectively will double its size. A new kitchen area will be included along with and enlarged function room, which can be hired out for social events or childrens' parties.
The plans include environmentally friendly features which will also reduce running costs, including underfloor heating, rainwater recycling from roof drainage, solar water heating and high specification insulation.
The expanded venue will also be used by the Youth Club BLAST who will be able to offer a much larger range of organised youth activities such as Thai boxing and other sporting activities.
Amanda Hancock, Neighbourhood Manager for Limehurst Village Trust said: "We want to build a stronger community on the estate, to encourage people to socialise and to get to know their neighbours and support each other. Although the estate has made much progress towards being a place of choice for people to live, we want to build on this further.
The extension of the hall will enable development of youth work and by providing a base for a wide range of youth activities it will reduce youth nuisance in the area - a significant problem according to our residents. It is proven that when young people are engaged in diversionary activities, there is noticeable and much lower occurrence of petty crime on the estate."
The Residents Association also hopes to run events aimed at the large population of older residents living in Limehurst. Joyce Weir, Limehurst Tenants and Residents Association said; "We are looking forward to being able to run more events for older people on the estate."
Councillor Jean Stretton added: ""The enhanced facility will allow more local residents and community groups to operate from the premises as well as providing improved facilities for the people who already use the hall. I am very pleased for all the hard-working individuals and community groups who will benefit from this investment.
The opportunity to generate income from social bookings will also assist the sustainability of the hall, as will its improved energy efficiency." |
| Posted by 0 for Regenda Group |
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