A MASSIVE £300,000 grant has taken Warwick’s new community centre a step closer to reality.
Priory Pools Community Centre has been awarded the cash from The National Lottery Community Fund, taking the total raised for the project to £2.1 million.
The award marks a huge milestone for the charity, bringing the long-awaited vision of a purpose-built community centre for the Packmores Estate significantly closer to reality. The project has been driven by residents, volunteers and trustees who have worked tirelessly over the past few years to turn what many believed was an impossible dream into a reality.
The charity is now completing its competitive tender process. It expects to appoint a construction contractor by the end of July, with the ambition of starting work on site in September, subject to securing the remaining funding required.
Priory Pools Community Centre has one final major fundraising campaign underway through the Aviva Community Fund, which aims to raise £50,000 towards the centre’s solar panels, air source heat pump system and low-energy lighting. Thanks to Aviva’s match-funding programme, every individual donation of up to £250 is currently being doubled, helping supporters make twice the impact.
Reaching the £50,000 target would help complete the funding package needed to begin construction while ensuring the building is as environmentally sustainable and affordable to operate as possible. The renewable energy systems will reduce future running costs, allowing more income to be invested in activities, services and support for residents.
Janette Eslick, trustee and lead fundraiser for Priory Pools Community Centre, said: “This is an incredible moment for everyone who has believed in this project. For many years people said a new community centre for Packmores would never happen, but today we are celebrating one of the biggest milestones in our journey. Raising £2.1 million is a huge achievement and is only possible because of the generosity of funders, local businesses, community organisations, volunteers and hundreds of local people who have supported us along the way.”
Previous donations include £300,000 from Warwickshire County Council’s Social Fabric Fund, £250,000 from Warwick District Council, £300,000 from King Henry VIII Endowed Trust, and other large contributions from The Warwick and Budbrooke Anglican Churches Charity, The Charity of Thomas Oken and Nicholas Eyffler, Warwick Relief in Need, Warwick United Charities, Warwick Provident Dispensary, 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust, and Warwick Rotary Club.
The new £2.5 million community centre will provide a welcoming, accessible space for people of all ages, with a large community hall, cafe, food pantry, youth facilities, meeting rooms and outdoor spaces. It will become a hub for community activities, clubs and societies, health and wellbeing programmes, advice services, volunteering and social enterprise, helping tackle isolation, improve opportunities and strengthen community life.
Visit www.priorypoolscc.org for more details.
