On Monday 4 September Chairman Trevor Wang and Vice-Chairman Simon Chapman from Cringleford Parish Council broke ground for The Jubilee Centre at an event attended by South Norfolk Council and Big Sky Living (who will be project managing the build). This was the exciting culmination of three years of planning by the Parish Council to expand its facilities. With help from Big Sky Living, the original concept was enlarged and future proofed to meet the growing needs of the community. Pentaco Construction were appointed as the main contractor for the build once planning consent was issued in July 2023.
The Chairman said “With all the new housing comes a number of challenges for us as we are no longer a village on the outskirts of Norwich. The housing, however, also provides opportunities from the funds that flow into our community from the developers. It’s the job of the Parish Council to make the most of these opportunities. The Jubilee Centre is the first of our projects to improve the amenities available to people in Cringleford and there’ll be more to follow over the next few years.”
The building will consist of a sports hall suitable for two badminton courts, with changing facilities for the building and surrounding pitches (suitable for junior football). There will also be a nursery. The sports hall will be available for hire by private individuals and clubs. The building has been designed to be as energy efficient as possible, with solar panels, a heat pump and good insulation to reduce running costs and the burden on the parish. The site will also have electric vehicle charging points (supplied by Scottish Power) for community use.
The Centre will have five adjacent football pitches that will be used by junior teams. The nursery will be operated by a local provider already established in the area and will provide much needed nursery places for local children from the growing parish.
The building is costing nearly £3M and has been funded mainly by the Community Infrastructure Levy on the area’s developers, funds from planning obligations, and generous help from Big Sky and South Norfolk’s Co-investment Grant Scheme. It is planned that the building will open for use from summer 2024.
Photo credit: Simon Watson Photography
