Community Centre Fire Update

We are pleased to share that the current timeline for the St Andrews Community Centre remedial works to be completed is early January. This follows the electrical fire in May, with Full Council agreeing the phased re-opening of the building would initially be the library, parish office and changing rooms.

Library

Before the library can be re-opened further work will be required when the building is handed back from the contractors. The library shelving will need to be re-installed and the 4000+ books re-stocking - which were taken off-site to be aired. New IT equipment needs to be installed (this was already planned, and is not as a result of the fire) and training of the library volunteers on the new library IT and management system will need to take place so books can be borrowed and returned. As a result, it is currently expected the library will re-open late January / early February – dependent on national restrictions. The library opening hours are planned to be 12-15 hours per week.

Parish Office

The Parish Office will be available for the Clerks to work from, when the building is handed back. At this point the office will not be open to members of the public to reduce the risk to staff from Covid-19. Its use will be dependent on current national restrictions/guidance.

Changing Rooms

Access to the changing rooms for football teams will be available from the centre opening and access arrangements will be agreed with teams accordingly. 

Room Hire

Previous regular room hirers will be contacted to understand their current requirements - however room hire availability and bookings are likely to continue to be significantly impacted because of Covid-19 and the associated restrictions. 

Pavilion Bar

A phased re-opening of the building will reduce the financial risk to the Council, in what has been a challenging financial year. As a Council who spend public funds, we have a duty to safeguard public money and consider any risks to the Council.  The Pavilion Bar is therefore not scheduled to re-open in the current financial year (2020/21), with the early months in a new calendar year historically being the quietest time of year for the Bar.

There is on-going work to consider the options for the Pavilion Bar for the new financial year 2021/22. The Council will be consulting with the community in 2021 about what residents’ priorities are for the services and amenities provided in the Parish, to ensure the spending of the Budget is prioritised in-line with the areas identified as most important to the community.    

Loss of Income

Our insurance policy, in-line with many other policies, does not pay out Loss of Income because of Covid-19. The Loss of Income element of the policy only applies to the period following the fire when the government permitted the Centre to re-open, so from 4th July to 4th November. If the Centre is permitted to re-open in our area following lockdown 2.0 the Council will once again be eligible for Loss of Income until the completion date of the restoration (currently early Jamuary). The Loss Adjuster’s initial calculation has assumed that if we had been open, income would have been lower due to Covid-19 and running costs will have been lower whilst closed due to the fire. The insurance company have released an initial £10,000 for Loss of Income but the final figure is still being negotiated and it may not be agreed and received until the end of the financial year (31st March).