The Jubilee Institute, Rothbury

REFURBISHMENT PLANS - JANUARY 2003

We were very disappointed not to be awarded a grant from the Community Fund (handling Lottery money), particularly as our bid had been acknowledged as excellent and was the result of many months of hard, skilled work.

The positive side to this is that all other funders have agreed to continue their support and so we have a considerable sum of money to start refurbishment work on the building.

At their meeting on Monday, January 27th. the Management Trustees passed, unanimously, the following resolution :

“That we use the funds available to proceed with Phase 1 of a two-phase refurbishment scheme. The work falling into phase 1 will be that in the western side of the building (the dining-room end) and will be detailed by the Project Manager and the Architect. The Chairman is authorised to sign the contract on behalf of all the Trustees. Work by the committee to find funds for phase 2 will begin at once.”

Phase 1
The outside wall (up the lane) will be largely demolished and rebuilt, and a new room (to cater for the Computer Association and training courses) will be built above the dining room, with a new roof. The toilets will be rebuilt and small modifications made to the room currently used by the Over 60`s club. A lift will be installed to give access for the disabled to the upper rooms. New windows will be fitted throughout and the electric wiring will be renewed.

The choice of this work is governed partly by what is most urgent and partly by conditions attached to some of the funds available.

Phase 2
This is mostly the provision of a glazed entrance lobby at the front of the building, fitted with a lift to take the disabled from pavement level to the ground floor of the hall. and then carrying out the alterations needed to the main hall and the smaller rooms on the east side.

Clearly the shorter the interval between the two phases the better.

The building work on Phase 1 will begin early in February and will take five months to complete.

We are conscious of the problems that lack of the hall will pose for many of our users, and conscious, also, of the frustration and irritation felt by some that we have not been able to state a definite position before now. We are aware of all of this and we are sorry. The old saying “Beggars can`t be choosers” seems very appropriate here, and we are very much in the hands of our funders. However, we are very excited that the works are finally getting under way and we trust that you will continue to give us your interest and support. We hope that in a few months from now it will all begin to seem worthwhile.

John Dance, Sandra Gutherson, Margaret Hammond, Eric Howarth, John Kirk, James Miller, Tony Sandford, Miriam Scott, Clive Wilkinson.

Management Trustees.

< Back