St Andrew’s community centre project moves to next phase
Plans for the renovation of the former St Andrew’s Primary School are under way following the return of school bell to its roof recently.
The school was closed in 2015 and is now home to the Avril Earl Dance and Theatre Centre and the Dyslexia Day Centre, with the former infants’ area is used as a pre-school. The building is now called St Andrew’s Community Centre.
Senior constable Martin Thwaite said that the building was being used for many things, and was also undergoing phased work to open fully as the parish community centre.
He said that there had been some interest in the covered swimming pool, which has been empty since the school closed, and that the front of the building would be transformed into a parish hall.
Two classrooms have been merged into one large room by removing a wall and a low ceiling taken out to reveal the eaves. The floor is in poor condition so will be replaced, as it is unsafe in some areas. It is hoped that this will provide a light and airy space for people to use.
‘We will be knocking through a wall into what was the staff room and turn it into a kitchen. The plan is for this room to turn into our parish hall which we can hire out,’ he said.
‘There are some issues with damp inside, but structurally the building is good and we’re stripping out the inside.’
He said that since the school had closed, the parish had held public meetings in the former hall, which was built in the 1970s, but the douzaine was switching to Blanchelande College this year.
St Andrew’s Primary School opened in 1741. Its bell is dated 1881 and the former school building is dated 1889-2015, which is shown on a plaque inside the entrance.
