Projects > Mitcheldean Community Centre
Refurbishment project
Posted: 20th December 2010
Funding: £24,500
Scheme Type: Normal Grants
Project Type: Community Buildings
Area: Forest of Dean District Council
Mitcheldean Community Centre, Mitcheldean, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, GL17 0BA
In 1970, St Michael's Hall was pulled down. The local population, without a community building for five years, formed a building committee to raise £24,000 to build a new community centre. Money was raised through various fundraising activities, including sponsoring a brick and monthly subscription fees, along with donations and a grant.
The new centre, Mitcheldean Community Centre, is currently being run by a small voluntary committee and is used by nine different groups who use the Centre every week, either for group sessions or for regular monthly meetings. The Centre is also used for private parties, as a designated fire evacuation point for the nearby residential nursing home and was used earlier this year by the local surgery for swine flu inoculations.
In 2008, after 33 years of continual use, the committee realised that the Centre needed a major refurbishment to improve the Centre's aesthetics and improve its energy efficiency. The improvements aim to attract additional groups and activities to the Centre.
The committee put together a business plan to apply for funding for the refurbishment at a cost of almost £98,000. Phase 1 of the refurbishment was successfully completed thanks to a grant of £24,500 from The Gloucestershire Environmental Trust.
Phase 2 of the refurbishment will include replacing the outdated heating system and renewing the mail hall's interior ceiling and flooring.
