Go-ahead for community hub at site of former sports hall

PERMISSION for a new community hub in a Derbyshire town has been granted by planning chiefs.

Amber Valley Borough Council has given the green light for a new community centre to be built in Loscoe, near Heanor.

The Charles Hill Centre will include a large meeting room suitable for exercise classes and community groups, as well as changing rooms, toilets and refreshment facilities.

Work on the project is expected to begin in the spring.

John McCulloch, chair of Charles Hill Centre Community Interest Company, believes the project could provide a welcome boost. He said: “This project is much-needed for the area. We are very excited at the progress that has been made.

“The majority of the funding for the project is now in place and we have made funding applications to various bodies to make up the shortfall.

“As well as the facilities for sports and community groups, we want to improve the wide-open green space at Charles Hill by opening up and connecting walkways into the adjacent Red River nature reserve.”

Residents have been asked to contribute to the project, with Charles Hill Centre CIC hosting a crowdfunder to raise the necessary funds to complete building works.

Charles Hill is a former colliery site which was gifted to the local council in 1955 for use as a playing field and sports facility. Since the site’s sports hall was demolished in 2010, the area has been relatively underused.

It is hoped the centre will bring residents together, with the project aiming to increase outreach to young people in the area.