Stepnell begins work on £3.9m community centre

Construction company Stepnell has started work on a £3.9m  community building for the village of Mountsorrel, near Loughborough, in Leicestershire.

The company’s Nottingham team has been appointed by the Mountsorrel War MemorialsTrust and Mountsorrel Parish Council to a design-and-build contract to deliver the multi-purpose facility, designed by Nottingham architects Franklin Ellis, in place of the former Mountsorrel Memorial Hall building.

Following the demolition of the former Memorial Hall, a special event on site involving the major partners and the Mayor of Charnwood marked the start of the installation of the new two-storey centre’s 10.7 metre high steel frame. The partnership includes the Borough Council and Tarmac which has made a “significant” financial contribution. The brand-new Memorial Centre building will include a theatre, a café space, two shops and a crèche as well as a music and arts performance/practice room and meeting and conference rooms. There will also be car parking for more than 60 vehicles.

Michael Lemon, on behalf of the War Memorials Trust, said: “With our partners, we are delighted to be working with Stepnell on this important new building which will provide excellent social and cultural opportunities and will be a fitting new memorial.”

Stepnell project manager Glenn Reeves said: “This much-needed new facility will provide a larger, better-equipped building for residents in Mountsorrel, creating a modern, multi-purpose community hub. We are very excited to be working with the Mountsorrel War Memorials Trust, drawing on our strong record of creating high-quality community facilities to deliver the enhanced Memorial Centre.”

Franklin Ellis project architect Matthew Kirk added: “It is pleasure to be working as architects with a client who is so focussed on providing the best possible community facilities. We are delighted to be able to help in bringing this new facility to the people of Mountsorrel.”