Durham City Homes have unveiled impressive plans for the communal halls across their areas, starting with a pilot project at the beginning of Autumn.
Local residents will be invited to a consultation event if their particular building is due for works, giving them and users of the halls the opportunity to discuss and input into the plans for the building. Staff from Durham City Homes have already gathered with local residents at Broomside Lane Communal Hall in Belmont, which is the first hall in the pilot to have works carried out. It is expected that a further two halls will be included in the pilot, the locations of which are to be confirmed later in the year.
Although plans for individual halls vary, residents in local communities could see changes including refurbishment, wifi connection and computer ports, an electrical rewire and structural work. Work to Broomside Lane will be completed this year, with an estimate for the remaining hubs in the pilot to be completed by April 2016. Once completed, these halls will re-open as community hubs.
Technical Manager, Tony Jones who is leading on the project from Durham City Homes says the plans will benefit both current and future users of the hubs. “We know that our halls are valued in our communities and this project is going to make sure they are fit for purpose with the right facilities. Consultations like the one at Belmont are fundamental for getting our plans right.
“As well as making the hubs better for those that already use them; we hope that the work we are going to do will attract new people to use the buildings, growing the communities they are in and making them more vibrant.”
For more information on the community hub project please contact Tony Jones at Durham City Homes on 0191 349 7599.