By Bradbury Williams

A new community and sports centre for Mid Sussex has officially been opened after an epic 20-year fundraising campaign. Mid Sussex MP Mims Davies cut the ribbon for the £1.25M Ansty Village Centre at the start of an Open Day on October 17th, which was staged to help put the venue on the map.

The building combines a community hall and sports facilities for the village and the wider area, replacing a former WW1 hut, which had stood on the site for the last century. The centre has been open since Polling Day back in May, hosting a range activities including exercise classes, a choir, birthday parties, charity evenings, quiz nights as well as providing a new home for cricket, football and snooker. The centre has a state-of-the art main hall, with two sides of bi-fold doors opening onto the the recreation ground, also a maxi screen and projector and a well equipped new kitchen.

Just before the ribbon ceremony, there was a short presentation for Maureen Gibson and Brian Fletcher to formally recognise that they worked tirelessly to make the endless plans for a new centre become a reality. Another long term visionary from the Ansty Village Hall Trust, Marion Pettitpierre, was delighted by the historic Open Day event: “I have lost count of the number of cream teas we ran and the hundreds of cakes we baked, but we have finally got the centre we deserve with something for everyone.” AVHT Trustee and Project Manager John Thorpe secured the highly complex funding package against all odds and a design that skilfully met the requirements of all users. He then found a way to get it built, with some strong local and professional support

For more details turn to page 50 of November’s Cuckfield Life.