A HISTORIC society and a community hall in Basingstoke are set to relaunch following a £300,000 funding initiative from the Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, it has been revealed.
The Basingstoke Irish Society and the Fairfields Community Hall have been saved from the verge of closure, five years after the council nearly decided to demolish the building.
A funding initiative from the council, as well as funds raised by the Irish Society, has helped the building undergo extensive works that saw its hall and toilets being refurbished with all new flooring, and plumbing, heating, insulation and electrical systems being upgraded.
The society is now set to rebrand and relaunch in an attempt to open the centre to wider communities.
Andy McFadden, chairman of the Irish Society, thanked the council and said the society is proud of the achievement.
“The Committee and I are delighted to relaunch the Irish Centre and Fairfields Community Hall following an extensive refurbishment thanks to funding from the council, as well as funds raised by the Irish Society ourselves,” Mr McFadden said.
“We are really proud of what we have managed to achieve here, considering the threat of closure only five years ago and we couldn’t have done it without the support of the community and the Basingstoke council.”
In 2016, a campaign was launched by members and Fairfields residents to save the Irish Centre after it was revealed that the building, along with Basingstoke Carnival Hall Community Centre, will be demolished as part of the council’s Top of the Town redevelopment plan.
Things took a U-turn later as the council carried out a feasibility study and came to the conclusion that it wasn’t going to be financially viable to build another centre.
The council then provided funding to the society to undertake a variety of refurbishment works.
Mr Sean Kelly, who oversaw the works as a member of the society, said the centre is set to be relaunched with an Open Day in around six weeks.
“Although it has always been a community centre since it started around 30 years ago, many people would be surprised to know that you don’t have to be Irish to come in here,” Mr Kelly said.
“Hence, the council requested that we look to potentially rebrand or rename in order to welcome more people from the community and to make them aware about what we can offer as a centre.”
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