Funding saves 180-year-old Youth & Community Centre

Fundraising efforts have saved a 180-year-old Youth & Community Centre from the brink of dilapidation.

Fundraising efforts have saved a 180-year-old Youth & Community Centre from the brink of dilapidation.

Poynton Youth & Community Centre was forced to close in May after a health and safety review found its gutters could not cope with water pouring off its roof, electrical wiring on the premises was dangerous and its Fire Safety System was substandard. The much-loved centre had provided a home for 16 community groups, including a ‘Men in Sheds’ group set up to tackle loneliness. But now the centre can reopen thanks to the work of its committee, which embarked on a campaign to raise funds to renovate the centre.

Events including a community centre open day, benefit concert and ‘Summerfest’, helped the committee to raise £1883 to support essential renovation work, a total which was match funded by Equilibrium.

Debbie Jukes, partner at Equilibrium, said:

It’s clear the Poynton Youth & Community Centre provides a fantastic space for people to come together and that allowing it to fall into permanent disrepair would have been a great loss for the community. We’re in a fortunate position where we are able to give back to the local community through the Equilibrium Foundation. It’s something we take great pride in, so it was a pleasure to be able to make a donation to the team making such a huge effort to ensure that the community continues to benefit from the centre.

Geoff King, Chairman of Poynton Youth & Community Centre said:

Generous donations from individuals and businesses such as Equilibrium have certainly made a huge difference. Their help has allowed us to make real progress in addressing the building’s problems as quickly as possible. The main building was closed for 15 weeks but we have now addressed the problems which had forced us to close. We were able to hold a reopening party on Saturday and it was fantastic to see members of the community enjoying the centre once again.

Despite the funds raised so far there is still more to be done before restoration work on the centre has been completed.  Geoff added:

Whilst we have re-opened, we still have a mountain to climb to ensure the building is secure for future generations. In the long term the centre needs a new roof but that will cost somewhere in the region of £200,000. We then need to think about preserving the appearance of the exterior whilst modernising the interior.

For more information on the centre go to http://www.poyntoncommunitycentre.org.uk/