Plans have been drawn up and passed by Brentwood Borough Council planning committee to convert one of the two existing Squash courts at the Sports and Social Club into a self contained Children's and Youth Centre. By placing a false, mezzanine floor at the level of the current balcony, giving the width of a squash court with the additional length of the balcony, the top floor will be used as a large open area. Below, the area will be used for smaller rooms by using moveable partitions. A new construct will be placed on the side to give an entrance to the building, a stair case / wheel chair lift to access the upper level, kitchen, toilets, office facilities. Storage will also be available on the upper floor by utilizing the roof space of the adjacent building. The whole design will have a single emergency doorway to the remaining Squash Court and Sports and Social club, hence giving a completely isolated facility to run Children's and Youth activities. The design will give the Clubs a smaller hall space than either the Village Hall or the old school building– but it will be a dedicated children's / youth hall, so balls can be bounced off the walls. It's not a perfect solution but the building required for that would be four times the size, eight times the price, and the location will be a nightmare to decide upon! By the donation of a Squash Court by the Sports and Social club, the Youth Centre can be come an achievable reality.   The Plans are shown above, along with an artist's impression of the new build show that the additional external work will be mainly built on existing grass / shrubs, and not taking any of the existing car parking spaces. The location will allow direct access from Blackmore Primary School without the need to walk along any road, making after school clubs / activities a viable vision.

 

 

URL: http://www.blackmorevillage.co.uk/