Big Build Fund

Refurbishment Update…

23/01/2020 by Frances Greenwood Leave a Comment

So, the builders have been busy here at Penistone Leisure Centre and you can see the progress they’ve made now!

They’ve installed a new partition in the ceiling, which will allow us to separate the hall into two spaces using an acoustic curtain (being installed on Thursday next week!). This will allow us to offer more classes at PLC, as the majority of our classes don’t need the space of the whole hall, so at peak times we are under used!

The work in the back room is moving quickly now. This room used to be a dark and cold space which was barely used. The builders are raising up the floor level, so that it is level with the hall and installing a new blockwork floor. They’ll also be removing the large roller shutter at the back, and replacing it with large floor to ceiling windows which will give a nice view down over the field to the back of the centre. This room will eventually become the new Gym Room, but will be used as a buffer space to move other areas of the building in to, whilst renovations are undertaken on other rooms first!

The back room is the start of our main project, ‘Sporting Penistone Upgrade’, using a grant from EPIP (funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) and Section 106 money from BMBC.

We’ve got so much going on at Penistone Leisure Centre! Could you spare a few hours a week to volunteer your expertise in some way? We have volunteer roles available for everyone! Drop us an email on info@penistoneleisurecentre.org.uk or sign up for our ‘Friends of Penistone Leisure Centre’ Scheme HERE

A Grant from The Talbot Trusts

06/01/2020 by Frances Greenwood Leave a Comment

We were pleased to hear we’ve been sucessful in applying for a grant of £2,500 from The Talbot Trusts.

The Talbot Trusts are a small grants giving charity based in Sheffield who give money to projects which benefit the people of Sheffield and surrounding areas with regards to health and isolation.

The Talbot Trusts was set up in 1928 by steel factory owner Frederick John Talbot and his wife Sarah to pay for convalescence and after care treatment of manual workers. Over the years Frederick and Sarah gave further donations towards this end, which were held in trust. Both also bequeathed significant amounts of their estate to the Talbot Trusts.

This money will be an excellent addition to our ‘Big Build Fund’ and will pay towards installing new serving counters in the planned Cafe area, and also reception desks too in the new entrance area.

The Refurbishment Work has Begun…

05/12/2019 by Frances Greenwood Leave a Comment

We’re delighted to say that we’ve had builders on site this week, making a start on the refurbishment work!

Their first task is to install the framework (pictured) to support some acoustic curtaining which will allow us to partition the hall, meaning more than one class can take place simultaneously. This partitioning will mean that we have much greater flexibility for instructors (as most don’t use the whole hall!), and also allow us to offer a wider range of different classes (so if you are an instructor interested in working with us, please do get in touch!)

The builders are working in the daytime, and are leaving the centre ready to use in the evenings, so there shouldn’t be any disruption to classes at the moment. Rachel, along with the project manager and the builders have worked together very closely to ensure that disruption is as minimal possible. Please bear with us throughout the refurb!

The builders will move from here on to beginning to transform the gloomy back room into a bright and beautiful new Gym with lovely big windows looking down into the treetops of the field below… More photos of this once work has started there.

Some Fantastic News for Penistone!

17/10/2019 by Frances Greenwood Leave a Comment

Penistone Leisure Centre has been successful in it’s application for £166k of funding from East Peak Innovation Partnership (EPIP is European funding) towards Project 1 of our refurbishment. Along with £60k of money from BMBC’s Section 106 fund (money which housing developers set aside to improve local amenities) this grant means we have enough funds for the structure and core work of the refurbishment.

Our plans have been a long time in the making, and have been drawn up following a huge local survey, lots of talking to people and research.

Rachel Gibbons (Chair of the Board of Trustees) says-

‘This is fantastic news! We can now start to make huge changes to improve the centre for the whole community.”

Project 1 of our refurbishment is the internal reorganisation of Penistone Leisure Centre to maximise the potential of the building and to make the centre accessible to everyone in our community. The current layout limits its use, meaning people have to walk through the main hall during classes to access the gym rooms, party room, kitchen and storage. Our new layout will mean that there is a new Gym room with large windows and views down the fields:

Watch our video to see what will probably be the first phase of the refurbishment.

There will be a new skate store and workshop, a large Cafe with windows looking into the hall so that you can watch activities whilst enjoying a snack/drink, a bigger second room for classes, improved toilet facilities, a fully accessible ‘changing space’ and a meeting room.

We hope you will be able to sit in the café with a drink and watch your skaters or other classes

The money secured from EPIP means work can start in the near future and Project 1 will be complete by this time next year. We will do the work in phases, one room at a time, so we can keep the centre open throughout. We are meeting with our contractor, John O’Connell from JSD Construction, and our volunteer project manager Mike France this week to plan out the works.

This plan shows what the layout of the Leisure Centre will be, once Phase 1 is complete.

Rachel, (Chair of the board of trustees) has worked tirelessly on this project and the funding applications needed to let it go ahead. Rachel has been the driving force for the project and we owe her a massive ‘Thank you!’ for her efforts for our community. It has taken a monumental amount of work to get the project to this stage and there’s a lot more to do yet!

There are further plans for the future of Penistone Leisure Centre. Project 2 will landscape the grounds to install accessible ramps to the centre and improve parking (some funding already secured for this, but more to find), and in Project 3 we will build an extension to the centre to provide another room for classes and more toilets/showers. See the plans HERE

Watch this space – or become a Friend of Penistone Leisure Centre to be the first to know!

Did you see our Skaters in the Paper?!

02/09/2019 by Frances Greenwood Leave a Comment

We were delighted to see our wonderful Sponsored Skaters in the Chronicle this week (though the picture doesn’t show ALL of the brilliant Skaters, so scroll down for more photos with ALL our skaters in!)

We were so proud of all the skaters who completed the 1 mile or 3.5 mile challenges, especially given that the weather wasn’t brilliant for roller skating in!

All our Sponsored Skaters from 22nd August!

We’re still collecting sponsorship for the skaters, so don’t have a grand total just yet, but you can still sponsor them HERE if you’d like to!