Bob Foster and Kim Gallagher came to see us this week to tell us all about the Swanage and Purbeck Development Trust.
The Trust was born out of an urgent need for community support arising from decisions made by the former Dorset County Council to withdraw support for urgently needed community facilities. It is an umbrella organisation that co-ordinates and support initiatives aimed at improving local amenities for the benefit of the area.
Kim and Bob went into more detail about some of the initiatives that had already taken place. Most notable is The Centre which has taken over the building formerly used by the youth club, refurbished it and made it somewhere that people want to visit and use again.
There are new projects in the pipeline, including the refurbishment of Herston Village Hall, which needs new insulation and repairs to its roof to make it somewhere that the community can get much more use from. The largest project, however, is the plan to upgrade Swanage Football Club and rebuild the clubhouse to make it a multi-purpose facility that the whole community can benefit from. This is a £10 million project but plans are already well advanced and it is hoped that they will be able to apply for grants to contribute to the costs.
Bob is a former member of Swanage and Purbeck Rotary and Kim is a long time supporter and friend who received a Paul Harris Fellowship a couple of years ago. We were delighted to welcome them both back to the club and on behalf of the club Maggie Hardy proposed a vote of thanks for their most informative presentation.
More details about the Swanage and Purbeck Development Trust are available via this link.