A HISTORIC society and a community hall in Basingstoke will have a grand reopening this month following a £300,000-revamp.

The Basingstoke Irish Society and the Fairfields Community Hall will host the Basingstoke and Deane Mayor Cllr Onnalee Cubitt who will formally reopen the refurbished and rebranded centre on Saturday, March 26.

The event will be held 1pm and 4pm, and there will be live music, table top games, raffle and tombola, free pool and darts, champagne and canapes, tea and refreshments and demonstrations of some of the activities that are held at the centre.

READ MORE: From the verge of closure, Basingstoke Irish Society is saved

The activities include yoga, pure boxing, Zumba by Gisella and Irish dancing by Boyle-O’Dowda Academy.

The Basingstoke Irish Society and its hall were saved from the verge of closure, five years after the council nearly decided to demolish the building.

A 300,000 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.

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.

SEE ALSO: Council sets date to vote on Culver Road halfway house plan

The council then provided funding to the society to undertake a variety of refurbishment works.

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