Community Centre? Exhibition 8-15 July

Rowland Hughes says:This was sent to me by Ann Faulkner to publicise as widely as possible. Please try to give it your support.

'Have Your Say' on a New Multi-Functional Centre Planned for Swanage.A week-long exhibition and consultation event incorporating sport, community, enterprise, training, and childcare uses is being planned by the Swanage Town and Community Partnership from Friday, 8 July to Friday, 15 July, to gather more public opinion on what form a multi-functional centre should take and where it should be situated.The 'Have Your Say' event, held in the sea-front Tourist Information Centre, will give residents and visitors to Swanage the chance to get the latest information about the project including the potential activities that people have already identified and the proposed sites for the new centre.The Swanage Town and Community Partnership is hoping that both residents and visitors to the area will participate in the event by answering a questionnaire and leaving comments about what activities they would like to see accommodated by the proposed facility.Tony Miller, Chairman of the Swanage Town and Community Partnership, said: "At this stage the plans for the new multi-use centre are pretty flexible. We have looked at all the comments that have been gathered over the last four years and have incorporated them into this consultation.""We are holding this event because it is important to work out what should be included in the centre based on local priorities. We want as many people as possible to look at the display and give us their thoughts. That way the final plans will meet as many aspirations as possible and will also be realistic in terms of what will be used and what is affordable.""There may be many more ideas we can incorporate - but we need people to tell us about them now."A second exhibition is planned for September. At this event the design and specification of the proposed centre, based on all the previous consultation work, will be unveiled to the public. After this the next stage in the project will be to seek planning permission for the new centre.The two 'Have Your Say' exhibition events are part of a £40,000 study looking into the feasibility of providing Swanage with a multi- functional centre providing activities and services for all sectors of the community. Funding is being provided by the South West of England Regional Development Agency, Purbeck District Council, Swanage Town and Community Partnership, Swanage Town Council and contributions from a range of sports groups and interests within the town.The feasibility work is being carried out, on behalf of the Swanage Town and Community Partnership, by Plymouth-based business consultants Hyder Consulting Limited and Bournemouth architects Terence O'Rourke.

Swanage Tourist Information Centre is open from Monday to Saturday, from 10am to 5pm.end.For further information please contact:Ann Faulkner, Vice Chairman, Swanage Town and Community Partnership on 01929 424252.

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