Homes plus new centre planned
A NEW community centre is set to be built in Mildenhall as part of a £2.6 million town upgrade.
Plans have been drawn up by Forest Heath District Council (FHDC) to hand over the existing St John’s Community Centre, which has stood since the 1960s, over to Orbit Housing and the Keystone Development Trust (KDT).
As part of the agreement a new community centre, managed and owned by KDT, will be constructed, along with 20 affordable homes.
In a report set to be considered by councillors at a FHDC community services meeting on Tuesday, Nigel McCurdy said: “The existing building is no longer fit for purpose and is beyond its useful life. It has poor levels of efficiency and is not compliant with current requirements. A new community centre will be constructed and will be built to the latest standards. KDT will look to include renewable materials and systems wherever possible.”
Originally it had been hoped by officers at FHDC that the project would be handed over to KDT, which has run the existing centre since last August after taking over the contract from Anglia Community Leisure and Flagship Housing.
But following the demise of the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), which KDT had hoped to secure funding from, and a change in priorities in the Flagship Housing development programme, a deal was struck between KDT and Orbit Housing.
Under the proposals put forward, the new building is expected to be slightly smaller than the current one, along with taking up an area of public open space on the estate.
“Although the new community centre will be smaller than the existing building it will be designed to reflect the modern needs of the local community,” added Mr McCurdy’s report.
“While the scheme will result in the direct loss of public open space, this is potentially off-set through the provision of a new community centre.”
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