Chalfont St.Peter Community Association 1957 – 2019

The Beginning

After the First World War, the village wished to have a Memorial Hall of those who had lost their lives. A wooden army building in Denham was purchased and re-erected on a site at the corner of Market Place and Church Lane. This served the community well for many years until the major population increase in the 1950’s following the end of building restrictions on new homes.

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By 1957 the old building was becoming uneconomic to maintain, nor could it be enlarged. A Committee  was  set up to find a site and negotiate with the County Council for a new “Community Centre”. The old building and site was sold, to be replaced by shops and living accommodation.

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The Building

Bucks County Council erected a new Community Centre in 1961-62 on a site at Mill Meadow owned by Amersham Rural District Council. The original building comprised the Hall and Stage, Players room, Mary Smithells room, Foyer, office and toilets.

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A wooden plaque commemorates the formal opening on 15th.March 1962 by Lord Curzon of Bucks C.C. The full title, as required by the Charity Commissioners, was “Chalfont St.Peter Memorial Garden and Community Association”, to maintain the link with the former Memorial Hall. The Book of Remembrance, displayed in the Members room, contains the names of all village residents killed in the 1914-18 and 1939-45 World Wars.

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After the opening ceremony, St.Peter Players gave a theatrical presentation. They have the longest links of any affiliated group with the Centre.

Links with Statutory Authorities

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The Centre was originally built by Buckinghamshire County Council, who provided a paid part-time Warden as manager. Chiltern District Council took over the arrangement, but halved the grant in 2001. The District Council and Chalfont St.Peter Parish Council both made generous grants towards the £50,000 cost of the 1992 extension. The Parish Council were our tenants from 1992 to 2006, and have made grants to various improvement projects over the years. Both the District Council and Parish Council appoint representatives to the Executive Committee. The Community Centre holds a 21 year lease from Chiltern District Council expiring in 2021.

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The People

Mrs Mary  Smithells became Chairman of the Executive Committee. Other committee members in the early years included three local tradespeople, Bill Stringer (builder and subsequently President), Doug Robertson (butcher) and Ken Claydon (greengrocer) . From industry came Frank Brooks MBE (Chairman of the Parish Council in 1966-67) who gave 25 years  service as Treasurer. Dr.John Tappin from Medical Science served as Chairman, and as President until his death.  The Centre’s officers and trustees have always served as unpaid volunteers.

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Centre Enlargement

Over the years the Centre has been enlarged by the addition of a Members room, a bar, a boiler house, toilets for the disabled, the Chiltern room and most recently in 1992 by the Tony Graham room, named in memory of our late vice chairman. The Parish Council occupied part of the extension, which is now occupied by Apex Physiotherapy until 2006. Recently the bar was converted into the Misbourne Room and the Members Room was enlarged. The Community Centre also holds the lease for the Garden Club and St. Peter Player’s storage huts.

 

Maintenance

Most of the building is now over 60 years old, and maintenance is an increasing problem with wooden construction and flat roofs. Despite this the building is kept in tip top condition. Extensive maintenance costs have been incurred in recent years. The flooring has been replaced in most of the rooms, the toilets and the kitchen have been upgraded and the lighting has been converted to LED lighting.

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Future Plans

In view of the age of the building, the cost of maintenance and the demand for more space plans are afoot to replace it with hopefully with a new building.  A Feasibility Study has been completed and the New Building committee are considering the next steps to achieve this end. Watch this space. 

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Original by Peter Brown updated by David Burbidge 14th May 2019