We have rooms available for hire for all types of events, large or small. Up to the late sixties, sport and recreation in South Normanton were mainly provided by the Miners’ Welfare. With the closure of its parent colliery and the cessation of the miners’ contributions, the welfare became unsustainable. The Parish Council attempted to purchase the facilities, but the parent organisation, the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation had to sell off the facilities to the highest bidder. This coincided with the building of a new secondary school. The County Council’s policy, in order to extend the usage of school buildings, incorporated community facilities into the new building. With the increase in the school population, the demand on the facilities increased. At the beginning of the 1990s, the Parish Council became actively involved in seeking an alternative facility more accessible to the majority of residents. Funding was obtained from a number of sources, including a loan from the Public Works Loan Board to build a new centre on land owned by the council. Work was completed in April 1994. The day-to-day running of the Centre was transferred to the Community Centre Association. By a combination of good management and sound policies the centre prospered. By 2003 the demand for its services reached a level where the only alternative was to extend the centre. Due to a substantial grant from the Coalfield Regeneration Trust and Waste Recycling Environmental (WREN) and a Parish loan, sufficient funds were raised to extend the building. Work to provide two additional function rooms, a large lounge, additional toilet and kitchen facilities as well as an extended bar area was started in February 2006. The work was completed in time to celebrate the New Year. The new facilities ensured a much greater flexibility of use, with the function rooms accommodating the small to the really large. The centre now has a total integrated floor area of over 1000 square metres. In August 2008 the ‘Association’ made a successful attempt to ‘incorporate’ with Companies House as ‘South Normanton Community Interest Company’. This gave the centre the status of a ‘not for profit’ company, providing facilities and services for the benefit of the local community. The main source of income has been bar sales and the hiring out of rooms. Investment has enabled us to also become a major provider of conference and meeting facilities for many public authorities and charity organisations.
