Social club rises from the ashes
A DERELICT village social club is to be rebuilt more than a year after it was burned down by arsonists.
Plans are to be drawn up at the end of March for the Tan House Lane site in Burwell by independent firm S P Property Services, with work expected to begin on the new building in the summer.
It is not yet known how much the development will cost.
Members of Burwell Parish Council had applied for various grants to help refurbish the club, which has been empty for about a decade, to make it suitable for local groups and organisations to use.
But these plans were put on hold when the building was gutted following an arson attack last March.
“We have been waiting for the insurance company to get back to us as to whether it was going to rebuild it,” said Joan Lonsdale, parish council vice-chairman.
“The firm said it would reinstate it inside with two hall areas and with all the modern requirements. The parish council will also give the plans the once-over.”
Before the fire, councillors had hoped to use the building as a home for the village’s Scouts or for the local football team, the Burwell Tigers.
Cllr Lonsdale said the new club would still be available for groups to use on a hire basis.
“We are all happy that it now seems to be moving forward,” she said. “We will all breathe a sigh of relief when it’s finished.
“Councillors have been very anxious and have been working towards trying to get it done as quickly as possible.
“We put in grant applications to try to raise money as we wanted to extend the building and kit it out so local groups could benefit, but no one was prepared to talk to us about funding after the fire.
“We have been caught in the middle, but once it’s built we can go back to the grants.”
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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