Looking forward to the '˜rebirth' of our community centre

It’s been at the heart of the village for the past 50 years hosting church and community activities and events but sadly it’s now showing its age and needs redeveloping to ensure that it will continue to meet the needs of the community both now and in the future.

Here’s the problems: the drains are collapsing and the roof leaks.

The electrics are ancient and erratic while the inefficient heating system breaks down – and all this is before it has to deal with draughty, ill-fitting windows.

So, we’re planning a much-improved centre that uses the space available to better effect and rectifies all the problems we have now.

It will also provide sound-proofed rooms, disabled access, an updated kitchen, more storage and hopefully some more car parking.

We expect a modern, well-designed centre to continue to be a hub for the community of Alverstoke, as well as providing an essential resource for the work of St Mary’s Church.

These ambitious plans are going to cost a lot of money and we’ve already starting raising the money to pay for it.

And we’d love you to be involved in helping to shape the future of the community hub.

There are lots of ways that you could get involved:

n Come to the monthly coffee morning in the parish hall at 10.30am on the fourth Tuesday of every month (the next one is August 23) and meet your friends, buy some cake and browse the variety of stalls.

n Come to the Alverstoke Michaelmas Fayre on Saturday 24th September, where we hope to have our plans for the new centre on display and perhaps join the ‘buy a brick’ campaign.

n Come to our Barn Dance on the Saturday, October 29.

Tickets are available from the parish office on 02392 580551.

n Organise a fundraising activity yourself to raise money for the new centre or consider an individual donation.

Together we can build a better hub to meet the needs of our community today and in the future.

n St Mary’s Church, Green Road, Alverstoke PO12 2ET Contact: the parish office on 02392 580551. Website: stmarysalverstoke.org.uk