ALTON Community Centre has this year celebrated its 40th anniversary, with a raft of activities designed to mark the occasion and to pave the way for the next 40 years.

The celebrations, which took place in November, included an open weekend and a 40th anniversary party for current Alton Community Association trustees, staff and friends, among them Pat and David Tomlinson, wife and son of Dr John Tomlinson, who was the first chairman of Alton Community Association which is responsible for running the centre, John Smith, son of Cecil Smith, prominent local politician at the time and one of the original holding trustees, and Pam Bradford, one of the founder members of the community association who was responsible for setting up the bar.

They were joined by many former trustees and staff, as well as former and current users.

Current Alton Community Association chairman Pat Lerew gave a speech reminding people of the history of the building and the changes that have happened over the past 40 years. She was then presented with flowers by fellow long-time trustee David Gay for her part in keeping the centre going over many years.

Opened by actor Marius Goring on October 18, 1975, the community centre brought new life to the building which, located opposite Cut Pound, on Amery Street, was the first in Alton to be built over the River Wey.

Dating back to the early 20th Century, the building started life as a tannery and over the decades became a brewery and later an iron works, with the river water being used in the production processes.

It later became a fruit and vegetable store but, during the Second World War, was used for assembling gas masks. Is last commercial use was as a corset factory.

In October 1972, Alton Community Association was established with the aim of securing and running a community centre for Alton. Having become a registered charity in January 1974, the community association negotiated with the then Alton Urban District Council (now East Hampshire District Council) who bought the building and the community association signed a 99-year lease on March 25 of that year. The council spent £110,000 on the building conversion (the equivalent of £1,188,000 in 2015) and Alton Community Centre was opened in the October 1974.

The building has grown over the years to provide 10 rooms of various sizes available for hire to myriad organisations and individuals and now serves more than 1,000 people every week from Alton and the surrounding villages, using one or more of the following activities:

n A well-equipped playgroup, recently marked as “outstanding” by Ofsted;

n Alton Community Association Youth Club, which runs on three evenings per week;

n Social and live music events ranging from rock music through folk and choral music to poetry readings. Musical jamming sessions available to young people with special needs;

n A leisure learning programme offering daytime and evening classes in a wide range of subjects to more than 400 mature students;

n Alton Community Centre is home to Alton University of the Third Age (U3A) which has more than 500 members;

n Shopmobility scooters on hire;

n A well-supported community club for the elderly provides entertainment, visits and a hot meal twice a week;

n Alton Community Centre is home for many local services, clubs and societies.

The centre has well-equipped rooms of various sizes for hire at competitive rates, a mini-bus available for hire, a cafe, a licensed bar, an office, and ticketing services.

In 2005, with the building in need to some tender loving care, EHDC took the decision to build a new community centre. Plans were drawn up, the money allocated, and public consultations undertaken, but the financial crises intervened and the plan appears to have been shelved indefinitely.

With a significant amount of new housing planned for Alton over the next few years, a vibrant, relevant community centre remains an essential requirement for the town and, to this end, in 2014, Alton Community Association trustees agreed a £21,000 phased development project to improve the operating efficiency and facilities available.

The aim of the exercise has been to gradually improve and upgrade the facility, with the reconfiguration of the entrance hall and office area to provide improved office space and a new meeting groom, improvement to the heating system in the garden room, an improved and more welcoming foyer, the redecoration of all rooms, and the enhancement and enlargement of the cafe.

The plan is also to establish a rolling programme to replace the lighting with energy-efficient LED lights, to fit photo-voltaic (solar panel) cells on the roof to reduce electricity costs, secondary double glazing to reduce heat loss, and develop improved performance spaces with better lighting and sound systems.

The centre is largely self-funding, with less than 10 per cent of general operating costs provided by Alton Town Council, EHDC and Hampshire County Council collectively.

To fund the capital projects listed, the trustees decided to increase revenue from additional events, and establish a gift-aid scheme linked to a new centre development fund.

To contribute to this scheme, just pick up a form from the reception desk at Alton Community Centre. Alternatively, call 01420 85057 or e-mail [email protected].