New Finchampstead community centre gets closer

A brand new community centre at the heart of Finchampstead is a massive step closer this week now that Wokingham Borough Council and Finchampstead Baptist Church - FBC - have signed a ground-breaking land transfer agreement to move the project forward.

Construction work is ready to begin

Now that this legal agreement is signed and sealed, construction work can begin on this long-awaited development that will allow Finchampstead residents to benefit from significantly enhanced community facilities and services.

Community centre facilities

In addition to a purpose-built community centre, the new multi-million pound FBC Centre will boast a:

• Children's centre

• Library

• Sports hall

• Cafe

and other facilities such as a parish office and a local police base. It will also be a place of worship for Finchampstead Baptist Church.

How the centre will be funded

The £4 million-plus development will be funded primarily from church funds with additional funding from Wokingham Borough Council, The Big Lottery Fund's Community Buildings Programme, Sport England and Surestart grants and Finchampstead Parish Council.

Deputy leader of the council, Councillor Simon Weeks, said: 'This is a much-needed community facility for the residents of Finchampstead and I am delighted that the project is now fully under way.

This partnership between the church and the council will bring major benefits to the Finchampstead community. It has been a long time coming but now that we're over the main legal hurdles we can crack on with construction.'

Schedule for construction

Jim Gallagher, Deacon at Finchampstead Baptist Church, said: 'This is a very exciting time for the church and for the people of Finchampstead. I'm delighted that the land transfer agreements have been signed and that we can now concentrate on the construction of this fine new facility for all residents of Finchampstead.

'We aim to start construction at the beginning of March. The building phase is 41 weeks so hopefully we will be in the new FBC Centre by Christmas time. Obviously there will be some disruption to the area during the construction phase but we hope to keep this to a minimum. We will be holding a local meeting with Mansell, the builders, and local residents soon to explain the timetable.

Find out more

View the architect's plans.