Community hub is officially open
A new community hub for Mid Sussex has been officially opened by overjoyed volunteers and councillors.
Mid Sussex MP Mims Davies cut the ribbon for the £1.25 million Ansty Village Centre on Deaks Lane on Sunday (October 17).
The building provides a community hall and sports pavilion for Ansty and the surrounding area.
It has been unofficially open since May, hosting exercise classes, choirs, and birthday parties. The centre also has a state-of-the-art main hall with a maxi screen and projector, as well as a kitchen with new equipment.
“This brilliant centre is already busy and has huge potential,” said Ms Davies, adding that it is home to activities like disabled cricket and women’s cricket.
“It is an incredible example of a what a whole community can do when it works together, with the support of the district and parish councils,” she said.
Roughly half of the funds for the centre came from Section 106 money, with two £100,000 grants from Mid Sussex District Council and Ansty and Staplefield Parish Council.
Sources of the Section 106 funding included developer contributions related to community building and sports allocations from developments at Bolney Road South, Sandrocks, South of Rocky Lane and Rookery Farm.
WSCC chairman Pete Bradbury, who became involved in the project 20 years ago, helped lobby the District Council for section 106 money, which helped raise roughly £700,000.
He said the new village centre was ‘fantastic’.
“I’m really impressed with the way the various parties involved in it – the sporting bodies, the club, the village hall – have all come together to make sure everyone gets the best use out of it,” he said.
Marion Petitpierre, of Ansty Village Hall Trust, said she had been raising funds with Maureen Gibson since 1998 and that they originally wanted to build a new hall to replace the old one. But they joined forces with Ansty Sports and Social Club in 2008 to create a larger building.
“We think it’s going to address everything we need in the village and in the wider community for sport and socialising,” she added.
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