Renovation of Buxton community centre completed after ten years thanks to Tarmac grant

Fundraising began in 2010 for the renovation of the 130-year-old St Anne’s Community Centre, on Hardwick Square West, with St Anne’s Parish Pastoral Council aiming to create a versatile, multi-use hub for local residents and groups.

But it took a grant of almost £11,000 from Tarmac’s Landfill Communities Fund which arrived last year to finance the final stage of the project, and all the work has now reached its conclusion.

Volunteer fundraiser Bruce Thomson said: “We really appreciated the Tarmac grant as that rounded off the effort and time given by parish volunteers to making the centre a modern community facility that we hope many will use and enjoy.”

The extensive redevelopment has included installing new toilets, hearing loop systems and Wi-Fi, replacing the main hall floor, refurbishing the kitchen and adding a commercial dishwasher, fitting roof insulation and upgrading the building’s heating system, and adding new chairs and other furniture.

The Tarmac grant directly supported work to finish repainting all the rooms, modernising an upstairs kitchenette, install LED lighting in meeting rooms, convert a storage room for potential meeting use, fit an emergency exit, and a makeover for external features including the entrance area and fire escape.

The council hopes it will be suited to a wide range of community uses such as functions, entertainment events, children’s parties or public meetings.

David Wilson, business development manager at Tarmac’s Tunstead site, said: “We are really pleased that the grant awarded to the St Anne’s Centre has been used to improve the facility for wider use by the Buxton community. We look forward to the official re-opening once the Covid-19 restrictions ease.

“We are very keen to receive more applications from community projects, especially in a year in which charities have been badly hit by the impact of the pandemic.”

For application details, go to www.entrust.org.uk.

To find out more or book the centre, go to stannes.gbr.cc, email [email protected] or call 01298 23777.

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