Bury St Edmunds council approves £20,000 grant for Southgate Community Centre

A community centre can make further improvements after funding was secured.

Yesterday, Bury St Edmunds Town Council unanimously agreed to give a £20,000 grant to Southgate Community Centre.

Terry Ball, a trustee at the community centre, said two boilers needed replacing as they were ‘not terribly energy efficient’. A new fire door would also be installed.

The community centre was conscious the building’s 50-year-old flat roof would soon need replacing, which could ‘wipe out’ its funds in combination with other works, Mr Ball said, so asked for a grant to help replace the boilers.

Mr Ball said: “We don’t have a great many problems now but the boilers could prove costly if they require maintenance

“They’re working fine for now but we feel its the time to replace them.”

Extra work to insulate the building will be funded through a grant by West Suffolk Council.

Cllr Donna Higgins, Bury’s new mayor, described the building as a ‘ticking time bomb’.

“The community centre does a lot and I think they need a bit of help getting over the line,” she said.