Parish hub takes a step forward

DETAILED plans are being drawn up for a new community centre that has been six years in the making.

Firms have been contracted to draw up detailed plans for the Parish Centre Regeneration Project at St Mary’s Church in Alverstoke.

Gosport Borough Council granted planning permission for a new building on the site in March this year and, using part of the £120,000 that has been fundraised since 2015, quantity surveyor and contract manager, Jon Squires from Holloway and Squires Partnership Ltd in

Fareham has been appointed to help with the plans.

Some redrawing of room arrangement has taken place after Ron Harper from Techfire Ltd made recommendations to ensure that safe zones and evacuation routes are protected in the new building.

Philippa Harrap from the project team said: ‘I am pleased to say that all is moving forward.

‘This stage leads us to a fully costed design and once this is complete, we will enter Stage 3 of the project when we make applications to grant making bodies for the necessary funds to see our vision delivered. It leads us to Stage 4 which is when we enter building contracts and ultimately see our new community centre emerge from the ground.

‘Our sadness has been the very recent decision by our project manager, Ann Smith, to step back.

‘She has worked so hard that we don’t have enough words to thank her for all that she has given. All who know Ann Smith are so grateful for her work and her friendship within the project.’