AVONWAY Community Centre in Fordingbridge has welcomed the completion of its new roof, which was in need of vital repairs.

The re-roofing of the original school building in Shaftesbury Street was finished on Wednesday September 8 despite a series of hold ups, including days which were too hot to work safely as well as problems getting materials because of Covid.

Work started in May to remove the chimneys while the main work on the roof started on August 19.

To mark the completion Champagne was shared with the roofing team.

Avonway chairman Janet Brown said: “The new roof should be good for 50 years to come. With support from local residents the Community Association can look forward to a secure and leak free future.”

The work on the roof has been done by Chris Snell Roofing and Avonway says it has “very much appreciated his friendly and courteous team of roofers”.

Salisbury Journal:

In late 2019, an appeal was launched to raise funds to repair the building’s leaky roof and make the facility watertight. Since then there have been donations from the community as well as grants from Fordingbridge Town Council, New Forest District Council, and local councillors. The project has cost £47,600.

A statement from Avonway added: “We are grateful to all those who have helped make this possible including generous individual donors, the district and town councils for grants, the Ringwood and Fordingbridge Skip Hire for their free skip, the Rotarians who have provided all sorts of labour, Ian Newman for allowing us to put scaffold in his yard, and, of course, the Forest Journal which supported our original appeal.”

The work has involved removing the chimneys, re-slating the roof and improving the insulation.

The next task will be more guttering and dealing with damage inside due to leaks.

 

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