Coun Munsif Dad

Cabinet member for education, leisure and arts

RECENTLY I went along to the Hyndburn Sports Awards held in the magnificent Ballroom at Accrington Town Hall, and what and inspiring evening it was!

Organised by Hyndburn Leisure, the awards celebrated and showcased the sporting & physical activity achievements of Hyndburn’s athletes, coaches, volunteers, teams and clubs and it was marvellous to see the amazing work that they do in the community to get people involved in sport and exercise.

Congratulations to all the winners who will now go on to represent Hyndburn at the Lancashire Sports Awards later in the year.

Whilst we’re on the subject of the Town Hall, the final stage of £1.5 million refurb is really taking shape now.

This fine historic building has already seen three phases of renovation including the full restoration of the ballroom with new bar and stage facilities and access to the refurbished second floor balcony.

Previous renovations included improvements to first and second floor toilets and the refitting of the first-floor kitchen.

The existing first-floor supper room was also refurbished while a new cocktail lounge and the Accrington Pals Room have been created.

Now, work on the fourth and final phase of the renovation programme for Accrington Town Hall is almost complete.

The ground-floor redevelopment has seen the opening up of a range of functional spaces for smaller events, wedding ceremonies, conferences and family activities.

It’s wonderful that the final stage of the transformation of our historic Accrington Town Hall is almost done and will be open for business in November.

Being physically active is great for both physical and mental health and wellbeing so its great news that Pennine Lancashire is to benefit from potentially up to £10 million in funding from Sport England to help more local people be more active.

Partners from over twenty local organisations, who represent thousands of people living and working in Hyndburn are already working together on the Local Delivery Pilot.

Over the next two years, test and learn projects will be developed with residents that build on the great places and great people in our community.

We will involve local people in the co-production of each pilot and will deliver these in the heart of our communities.

Opportunities to get involved in the pilot will be shared in early 2020.

In the meantime, if you are interested in getting more active, why not get in touch with Hyndburn Leisure, the Leisure Trust offers something for everyone, so why not start today, find out more at www.hyndburnleisure. co.uk.

And finally, the Haworth Art Gallery, Stables and Motor House Studios is a real gem here in Hyndburn.

It houses the worldfamous Tiffany glass collection plus it hosts a varied temporary exhibition programme with free admission and parking.

There’s so much more on offer too, including the Gallery Kitchen for a light lunch or afternoon tea, plus a huge range of varied events and workshops for all the family, see the Gallery’s Facebook page: https: www.facebook.com/ HaworthArtGallery Accrington for details.