58 Main Street, Gorebridge
Midlothian, EH23 4BY
01875 823202
Community Hub Takes Shape
Trust applies for planning permission for new community centre in Hunterfield Road
Gorebridge Community Hub takes Shape
On 9th October 2009 Gary Treacy of Lee Boyd Architects has applied, on behalf of Gorebridge Community Development Trust, for full planning permission to erect a community facility at 80C Hunterfield Road in what is now the car park of Gorebridge Leisure Centre. A new access road, serving the Hub and the Leisure Centre, would link the development to a new car park on the site of the Brown Building, which is sadly no longer economically viable, after serving all sections of the Gorebridge community in a variety of ways for some one hundred years. The proposed new building has been planned by a design team comprising Lee Boyd, Architects; David Narro Associates, Structural Engineers; Irons Foulner, Consulting Engineers; Morham and Brotchie Limited, Quantity Surveyors; rankinfraser, Landscape Architects; and Stewart Anderson, Associates, Construction Design and Management Co-ordinator.
When Midlothian Council handed to the Trust responsibility for the Brown Building, the Trust gave firm undertakings that a home for current users would be a top priority for the new centre that the Trust aimed to provide. Within a tight budget the Trust made every effort to meet the needs and wishes of Brown Building users, and much more besides. When complete the Hub is programmed to serve the community between 9.00am and 10.00pm seven days a week. and will be able to accommodate:
generous childcare facilities; a youth wing to develop much-needed services for young people; office space for charities and community groups; serviced office accommodation for small local/start-up businesses; a base for Borthwick Pipe Band; a lunch club for the elderly; flexible accommodation for hire for private functions, training events, cultural events (theatre, film, exhibitions, large meetings); a meeting room for hire by local organisations; the beginnings of a heritage centre enabling the local History Society to develop their impressive archive material; a conference facility attracting business and community users to Gorebridge; a one-stop shop for contact between Midlothian Council and local residents; a community café to fill a long-felt need in Gorebridge, serving fresh, locally sourced food; and Leisure Centre users will benefit from a welcoming approach and also from the extensive facilities in the Hub building. Landscaping of the area around the building will provide a much improved environment, providing for open-air events such as the annual Festival of Remembrance and a terrace permitting extension of the café when weather permits.
Now that the planning application is safely submitted the Trust will by 2nd November formally apply to the Big Lottery Fund for a grant of £1,000,000 towards building costs. This money will have to be matched with grants from other funders, and agreement of Midlothian Council is needed on several other important issues, including transfer of ownership of the site and formation of a car park on the site of the Brown Building. The Trust calculates that it will be ready to start building in June/July, 2010, completing construction one year later.
The planning application is an important milestone for the Trust's Community Hub project, but it is clear that there is much still to be achieved if Gorebridge residents are to get some compensation for lost facilities like Greenhall Centre and the Brown Building. Sustained by the overwhelming support of the Gorebridge community the Trust remains confident that, with goodwill and effort all round, we will build at the heart of the community a multi-function community hub, where the social and economic development of the town's increasing population will be promoted in an environmentally sensitive context.
This article was published on : 14 October 2009 | Go back to the News homepage