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Fri 8 Mar 2013, 11:34
It will be interesting to hear what is said at the meeting.
The Gifford Trust says on its page on this website: "The business case was submitted with 25 letters of support from local organisations. We are very grateful to them and look forward to working with them as the new community centre becomes a reality."
I cannot speak for other groups, but one of those letters was from ChOC. We were asked for a letter of support and I asked the Trust by email what facilities would be provided that would be useful for us. I was promised a reply within a week but am still waiting, many months later! So I sent a general letter of support: after all, who can be against improved community facilities for the town?
But that support should not be taken to suggest that ChOC itself would have a use for the new building. We may do, but judging from the scale of the facilities that have been described so far, we might well not. A hall larger than the Memorial Hall would be a positive disadvantage for us for probably all our events. I cannot help thinking that many other local organisations may be in exactly the same position.
There are plans drawn up, budgeted for and approved for alterations/extensions to the Memorial Hall that would make it considerably better for our purposes. ChOC would consider helping with the cost of minor improvements that would specifically benefit us. But the Town Council has put the alterations on ice (as you will read below).
I can assure readers of this thread that ChOC has had no communication from the Trust, and 'working with' is an exaggeration at least to date. Perhaps a proper consultation is about to take place.
Personally, I have always felt that it would be simpler and more straightforward to call the new building a sports hall or sports centre, given both its size (I always hear it measured in badminton courts) and the fact that it will be attracting people and activities that overspill from facilities in Chippy and Witney.
And it will need a proper car park of its own.
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