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Sapphire Centre is a real gem
Paula Arkell-White of The Breyer Foundation presents the cheque for the Wi-fi service The Sapphire Jubilee Community Centre is in Bolberry Road, Collier Row, RM5 2FG. Work started on the building in May 2017 and it was completed by 31 August 2017. The official opening is scheduled for Friday 1 December 2017.
Cllr White with the name plate
The new centre is carbon neutral with solar panels contributing to the power for the anticipated electricity demand in the building, a ground source heat pump with a bore hole up to 140 metres into the earth to generate heating for the centre and rainwater capture so the grey water can be used for flushing toilets, watering the landscaping areas etc.
The pre-fabricated building was built by Northamptonshire based Scotts of Thrapston, specialists in the design, manufacture and installation of such buildings. The finished community centre includes a large hall for events and use by local organisations alongside a kitchen, toilets and an office. The building is fully accessible for people with disabilities and there is an underfloor induction loop for people with hearing difficulties. The main hall can accommodate 80 people seated or 120 people standing and has a built in sound system, there will also be Wi-Fi available throughout the centre.
Work finished! A play area for children under 10 years old has been created next to the new building. As well as money from Havering Council’s housing capital projects a grant of £10,000 towards the cost of the children's’ play area has been given by Tesco through the money collected from the sale of plastic carrier bags.
The children’s play area
The Breyer Foundation has helped finance the installation of Wi-Fi throughout the building. Work on the neighbouring park will be mainly scrub clearance to make that area more available for residents to use. Fundraising is taking place to enable equipment, trim trails and similar facilities to be installed in the park. The building is available for hire to community groups and local residents. More info www.havering.gov.uk/ SapphireJubileeCommunityCentre