WORK will shortly begin on the first stage of the project to refurbish the Laverton building, as the scheme gathers pace.
Construction work on a 12-week project to relocate the town council offices within the building and install a disabled lift will commence on Monday 22nd February.
The town council, which runs the building as a trust, has borrowed £105,000 from the Public Works Loan Board to fund stage one of the project, at a fixed rate of 3.15 per cent interest per year. The building work is expected to cost £95,000, with the surplus earmarked for unforeseen circumstances, a new computer and phone system and office furniture. The relocation of the offices from one half of the building to the other will free up space in the listed building to be used when later phases of the project are implemented.
At a meeting on Wednesday 3rd February an exploratory meeting was held at the Laverton to establish a “general interest group” to support the ongoing project. Representatives from Westbury Town Council, Matravers School, Wiltshire Council and Westbury Youth Centre were among those who attended.
Later phases of the project will seek to exploit the full potential of the Laverton, opening it up to community groups and offering it as a venue for special occasions. Other ideas include creating an exhibition area in the building, creating a public access computer suite and creating a heritage interpretation area.
At the moment the exact nature of the later stages of the project is yet to be decided, with the general interest group being asked to contribute ideas and guidance. There is also an extensive public consultation process being planned for later in the year which will ask Westbury residents what they want to see happen for the future of the building.
Although Westbury Town Council are the trustees of the Laverton, cllr Stephen Andrews said he wanted to get away from the perception that the building was the town council’s, saying that it was a resource for the entire community.
Westbury Town Council project manager John Parker said, “We’ve had a good start with the general interest group but we want to expand that across the community for anyone who wants to support the project to develop the Laverton as a community resource. I would ask anyone who would like to get involved to contact me at the Laverton on 01373 822232.”
John added that the Laverton trust was already looking into funding routes to help finance the later stages of the project.
The next meeting of the general interest group will be held in around six weeks’ time. To find out more about the Laverton Project you can visit www.westburytowncouncil.co.uk
