29.05.07
Stithians Parish Resource Centre Project starts tomorrow

With the investment from the Big Lottery Fund, Objective One, Rural Renaissance, EDF, Cornwall County Council, Kerrier District Council, Stithians Parish Council and its own resources, Stithians village hall Managament Committee has awarded a contract to local company John Nicholls Builders of Goonhavern to build an extension and to rehabilitate the Village Hall in Stithians. This was the outcome of a competitive tendering process against the design and specification developed by the Architect, Stithians resident Roger Hocking of CAD Architects of Penryn.

The contract being signed, work starts tomorrow! The new build will be completed by November 30th. Once finished, the new facility will provide a dedicated pre-school doubling the number of spaces available to provide day long childcare. The pre-school and Stithians School have agreed to collaborate to provide Breakfast Club, After School Club and Holiday Club facilities to create wraparound childcare for those parents who need it.

An internet suite will be provided and training for those wanting to learn about these technologies, alongside more formal training and education opportunities in collaboration with Cornwall College. The County Council have agreed to provide stock and staff training for a library which will supplement the services of the travelling library to the Parish.

The Parish Resource Centre will also take advantage of geothermal heating using technology generated through research work undertaken by Camborne School of Mines at Rosemanowes Quarry in Stithians. This eco friendly heat source provides heat from the rocks beneath the site only using electricity to circulate the heated water which will reduce costs and demand for heating oil for the new centre.

Speaking at the contract signing Mrs Margaret Ramsey, Chairman of the Village Hall Management Committee, expressed the pleasure of the whole community that this project is at last happening after several years of involved, and sometimes difficult, negotiations with a wide range of stakeholders. "At last it is happening on the ground after so much planning and negotiation," Mrs Ramsey said. Mr David Nicholson, Managing Director of the main contractor, Nicholls Builders, expressed every confidence at being able to bring the contract in on time and within the budget. "That is our profession and what our reputation rests on," said Mr Nicholson. Mrs Ramsey closed by thanking the several donors for their patience while the myriad negotiations were concluded and for their confidence in the Village Hall Management Committee to get to the right conclusion in the end.

The hall will be closed from the middle of July to the end of August to enable the contractors to get the remedial works required to the hall done. This time period has been chosen to coincide with school holidays when the pre-school is on holiday as well and to minimise disruption to the school, pre-school and the many other existing users of the hall. The Village Hall Management Committee apologises for any inconvenience arising from this closure, but promises that the improvement in the facilities and services available will be well worth it! Existing and new users will be warmly welcomed once the work is finished.

The Objective One Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has invested in the Stithians Parish Resource Centre project through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Editor's notes:

Clare Morgan
Media Relations Manager
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Mobile: 07973 813647
Telephone: 01872 223439

cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk

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