TO celebrate the recent opening of a new £1.7-million community centre for Hatherleigh, major funders and partners who helped ensure the exciting project was delivered on time and on budget were welcomed at the site last week. Those who helped make the project happen were welcomed to a reception at the centre last Friday, and took the chance to tour the facilities, now open for use by people in Hatherleigh and the surrounding villages. The building includes a multi-purpose hall for music and drama, a business support and training area, and a children's centre as part of the government-supported Sure Start initiative, providing additional services for children and helping parents looking to return to work. The centre also includes sporting facilities including a floodlit pitch suitable for five-a-side football, netball and tennis, plus changing rooms made available to sporting clubs. Noel Cartwright, project co-ordinator for the Hatherleigh Area Project, said the centre was already proving a hit. He said: 'The centre is already being used by a large number of groups from the Hatherleigh area and further afield and bookings for conferences and seminars are coming in fast. Our bookings indicate there will be more than 3,500 visitors between now and the New Year. 'Our thanks go to our funders and to the community, local organisations and Hatherleigh companies, such as May Gurney, who all contributed to raise more than a quarter of the project costs.' Mr Cartwright said the centre was versatile enough to meet the needs of a number of groups in the community. 'We are bringing a lot of new things to Hatherleigh. We have a programme of four classical concerts planned for next year. We hope to use the theatre for concerts, plays and film screenings,' he said. Mayor of Hatherleigh Cllr Gary Bush said he felt the new centre was a major asset for Hatherleigh. He said: 'The facilities we have got now are without comparison. The people in the town have worked hard for it. It is already being used by local people, the youth club held a party in here last week.' The building has been designed with environmentally sustainable aspects, the hot water for the changing rooms will be produced by solar panels and the underfloor heating system is powered by a ground heat pump. Mr Cartwright said it was estimated that 93% of the building's heating requirements would come from renewable energy. Jenny Mackenzie, Children's Centre manager, said the children 'absolutely loved' the new facilities which were also a hit with parents and staff. She said the centre was staffed by eight part-time staff, who were all local to the Hatherleigh area. Mrs Mackenzie said the health visitor attached to the Hatherleigh practice would also be using the centre as a base . Led by the community and pioneered by the Hatherleigh Area Project, the centre replaces the existing 100-year old town hall and has been seen by the community as an important part of the recovery of the area after it was at the epicentre of the foot and mouth outbreak in the South West five years ago. The building work was carried out by J E Stacey Co Ltd of Holsworthy. The project was made possible thanks to major investments of £359,000 from the European Objective 2 Programme and £275,000 from the South West of England Regional Development Agency (RDA), through the Market and Coastal Towns initiative (MCTi). Funding support was also received from Devon County Council (£113,500), West Devon Borough Council (£101,577), Hatherleigh Town Council (£25,000) and Sport England (£130,000). Sue Brownlow, head of operations in Devon for the South West RDA said: 'The RDA is delighted to have been able to support this scheme to improve access for people to a wide range of local services. The business advice and support services it houses will help the town and the surrounding areas become strong, vibrant and economically sustainable communities.'
