Ceremony marks symbolic end of East Hull Estate's multi-million pound regeneration
The final act of a 10-year regeneration programme on Hull’s Preston Road Estate will see the opening of a £850,000 extension to the Freedom Centre this week (Friday 19 March, 11.30am).
The ceremony will be carried out by Hull East MP John Prescott and people involved in the Preston Road Neighbourhood Development Company (PRNDC), a community-led charity. It was awarded £55 million in 2000 under the Government’s New Deal for Communities programme to transform the east Hull estate by tackling issues such as unemployment, health, environmental, education, childcare and transport. Preston Road was one of 39 areas of England to receive a share of £2 billion of Government funding, and Hull’s 10-year programme ends on March 31.
The expansion of the £3.5 million Freedom Centre, the flagship of the Preston Road Village Centre development, will create the new Humber Suite - a 60-seater function room leading to a walled garden. It will also see an enlarged gym on the first floor with treble the amount of floorspace of the previous facility.
The extension, which was constructed by the Sewell Group, PRNDC’s development partner, will be unveiled by Mr Prescott along with Jean Toker, Chair of the Board at the Freedom Centre, Don Smallwood, Chairman of the Preston Road Neighbourhood Development Company (PRNDC), and Paul Sewell of the Sewell Group.
Chairman Don Smallwood says: “It’s been quite a journey and we are rightly proud of our achievements since we started work on planning the regeneration back in 1998. Our challenge now is to make sure the facilities we’ve built have a long-lasting impact on the East Hull community.”
The Freedom Centre marks its fifth anniversary in 2010 as a conference and community building, which also incorporates a library, NHS minor treatment centre, a hair-dressing salon, adult education complex and a café. It is run by Preston Road Enterprises, one of five social enterprises set up by PRNDC, creating a total of 150 jobs. The others are: Child Dynamix, East Hull Community Transport, EMS Yorkshire (covering neighbourhood management, environmental consultancy and health & safety), and the Winner Company (Women’s Centre).
Meanwhile, a special, free family fun day for the Preston Road community will be held on the Saturday to celebrate the end of the decade of regeneration work. There will be music from Housequake and Jo Jordan, as well as family activities, all from 10am-3pm at the Freedom Centre.
http://www.freedomcentre.info/
