Horsham District Council is opening a new community centre on the Needles Estate in Horsham which will be called the Blackbridge Community Centre.
The new centre has been created by refurbishing and integrating St Peter’s Hall and the Royal Air Force Association Club (RAFA). These two properties have been completely remodelled to create a modern, flexible and energy efficient space for the benefit of the local community.
The building has a large hall for community use and events and a smaller hall for meetings and smaller functions. The refurbishment incorporated energy efficient technologies, including an air source heat pump heating system, LED lighting technology and solar panels, as well as high grade improved insulation.
Blackbridge Community Centre will be available for public and private events from March 2022.
A former traditional agricultural building, facilities include:
- Exposed beams
- Two halls available to hire for events and activities complete with seating, tables and audio-visual equipment
- Free Wi-Fi
- Fully furnished kitchen with a small electric oven, microwave, fridge and crockery
- Free parking at the rear of the building
- Easy unloading access to rear and front of building
- Wheelchair access through the front of the building and disabled toilet and lift onto the second floor.
Commenting on the new facilities, Horsham District Council Cabinet Member for Community Wellbeing Cllr Liz Kitchen said:
"This is a wonderful facility and I am delighted that it is now opening for the benefit of local residents, it really is something to be proud of.
Set in the heart of the Needles neighbourhood and near Horsham Town Centre it is ideally placed to serve these communities.
The opening is extremely timely, just as we are emerging from the pandemic restrictions and people can start to meet up socially again, which will be so beneficial for their wellbeing. I’m sure it’s going to be very well used by local people of all ages and will become the thriving heart of this community for many years to come."
The Council’s Cabinet Member for the Environment and Rural Affairs Cllr James Wright commented:
"As a council, we are driving towards being carbon net zero by 2030 and we are already making good progress towards this target.
This refurbished community hall is a prime example of how we are delivering on our objectives as well as saving on energy costs.
The centre has been refurbished to an extremely high standard with energy efficiency at its heart and will provide attractive facilities to support the health and wellbeing of our residents."
Cabinet Member for Horsham Town Centre Cllr Christian Mitchel added:
"This superb hall shows how we are investing in our town facilities for our local community whilst ensuring that sustainability means we build the very best for our residents."
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