The Chantry community and arts centre on Castle Street in Thornbury is set to receive a funding boost of £59,700 thanks to developer funding secured by South Gloucestershire Council.
The funding will be provided to the trust that manages the Chantry to install completely new central heating and hot water systems in the main building and coach house of the facility. The project will also involve the disconnection and removal of 31 existing storage heaters.
The Chantry has just reopened following coronavirus restrictions and the work will be carried out over the next few months, with the aim to complete the work by mid-November.
This work will complete a programme of improvements that have been made at the Chantry over the last two years and will ensure that the building remains in good condition and has increased potential for being available to groups and for activities for all Thornbury residents.
Cabinet Member for Communities Cllr Rachael Hunt said: “We are pleased to secure this funding from nearby developments that will help the Chantry install a more economical heating system and be used to its full potential. These improvements will mean the venue can cater for additional community uses as the current poor heating provision means that the building is not suitable for use for a lot of the target groups in the evening in the later autumn/winter month. Once the work is complete, the facility will hopefully attract new course and activity organisers, to increase the capacity of events at the community centre for local residents.”
Chairman of Thornbury and District Community Association David Derham said: “We are absolutely delighted that the Council has been able to award this funding to the Chantry. The current storage heaters are very old and lack the necessary level of control to provide heat when it is needed. The new heating systems will enable us to provide a much better environment for our user groups and will significantly reduce our operating costs and amount of wasted energy. We will also be able to comfortably accommodate many more groups in the evenings when previously the heating was totally unsatisfactory. This project will be a critical addition to the many other things we have been doing recently to improve the quality of facilities and business processes at the Chantry.”
The £59,700 of Section 106 developer funding is associated with the Park Farm and Morton Way developments and is allocated to be used as a contribution towards the provision of additional capacity to cater for additional community use at one of the community centres in Thornbury.
The new heating system will mark the completion of a programme of work which the trust has been delivering that will increase capacity and improve access to the Chantry.
