Funding boost to finish new Ansty community and sports centre

The Ansty Village Centre Trust (AVCT) is a partnership between the Parish Council, the village hall, the sports and social club, and the cricket club working together.

Their efforts will ensure the creation of a vibrant new central hub for residents, visitors and the wider community of Mid Sussex to enjoy.

The new centre will deliver two modern meeting and event spaces with catering facilities, a bar and improved parking.

The building is conveniently located just off the A272 and expected to attract users from Ansty, Bolney, Bolnore, Cuckfield, Haywards Heath,

Burgess Hill and further afield.

It will be fully accessible and reasonably priced for hire for a range of activities such as coffee clubs, youth clubs, exhibitions and presentations, dance and fitness classes.

The AVCT is demolishing the existing village hall and constructing the new community and sports centre and car park extension which will provide an additional 22 spaces.

The district council’s cabinet considered the additional agenda item at their meeting in early February to support the timescales and obligations to complete the first stage of the project by March 2021.

This award means the council has now allocated £697,641 of funding towards the project and the AVCT partnership has raised £764,536 in match funding.

Once completed the new building will consist of a new village hall which will provide a valuable community space for use by many groups, including a kitchen and audio-visual facilities. A clubroom and changing facilities will be available for use by resident and visiting sports clubs using the recreation ground.

Jon Gilley, AVCT chair, said: “The trust’s partnership with the district council has been vital in realising our shared goal of delivering a new and exciting multi-purpose community building for Ansty.

“As the completion of the centre is within our grasp, this final tranche of funding will allow us to deliver the other elements of the scheme, including the much- needed car park extension.”

Sources of Section 106 funding which is supporting the project includes developer contributions related to community building and sports allocations from developments at Bolney Road South, Sandrocks, South of Rocky Lane and Rookery Farm.

Normal Webster, MSDC’s cabinet member for community, praised fellow councillor Pete Bradbury for his hard work to see the facility ‘over the line’.

He added: “Despite challenges which have been experienced on site we are approaching the point when the building work becomes a reality and the villagers can see their fantastic new community centre taking shape.”