A look inside the Roundhouse in Braddan

Tindle News

A tour of the Roundhouse, the new community hub built by Braddan Parish Commssioners

Transcript

00:00 I'm Colin Whiteway, I'm Clerk to Braddon Commissioners.

00:02 And I'm Cassie McAllister, I'm the Centre Manager here at the Roundhouse.

00:06 And we've had a look around today, tell us about what people can expect when they

00:09 come to the Roundhouse. A little bit of something for everyone

00:12 really, so it's here for health and well-being, sports and

00:16 fitness, but just general leisure as well, there's

00:18 plenty to see and do indoors and outdoors. We're currently going through a

00:23 staged opening, so at the minute the sports hall is

00:27 available through prior booking, as is the sensory hub. The

00:32 commissioners have moved up this week from their old office in

00:35 Union Mills, so the counter service will be available again from Monday.

00:40 We will announce on our social media as each area opens up. We expect the next

00:46 area may be beauty, but stay tuned to hear more.

00:50 And there's been a few people coming in here now using the facility, the sports

00:53 hall, stuff like that. What's the feedback been like?

00:55 Absolutely amazing, we're really, really

01:00 pleased with all the feedback we've been getting.

01:03 The sports hall, everybody's loving. I mean,

01:07 if people are interested in making bookings, please get in touch, drop us an

01:11 email, info@theroundhouse.im. I'm happy to show sports clubs or

01:16 anyone who's interested around. The sports hall, whilst we're on it,

01:21 it is a multi-purpose space, so it can be set up for conferences and

01:27 as an event space as well, so anyone who's looking to do anything like that

01:31 in the future, please let us know. The rotunda is also

01:35 available, that's a multi-use room. Anyone who's walked

01:39 into that room, we've not really shouted about it, but

01:41 it does have the wow factor, so if you've got a business need or a small

01:45 sports class, come and have a look, get in touch. And

01:48 from a Braddon Parish Commissioner's perspective,

01:51 earlier you mentioned about it being like the heart of Braddon,

01:55 do you think this was something like this was needed for Braddon?

01:58 I mean, absolutely, this is going back to 2015 when we made our original

02:04 business plan and it really was the heart. We were a

02:07 small local authority based in a housing estate and people

02:10 weren't understanding the other functions we have.

02:14 This then became the centre of Braddon, right next door to the hospital,

02:19 it provides facilities for hospital staff,

02:22 for all the residents around here and it has become a focal point and that was the

02:26 real intention at the start. And touching on the hospital, there's

02:29 been some, obviously some complaints about regarding the access to the

02:33 building. Tell us a bit about that, so what's

02:35 what could be happening with that? I know there's been, the department weren't very

02:38 happy with you using the road. So we've had

02:41 discussions with the department about it and we've looked at ways in which we

02:44 can come in safely. They had health and

02:47 safety concerns which we totally appreciate.

02:49 So we're working with them now to try and find a safe way in,

02:53 which is now via the West Drive and not via the main hospital route, so we

02:58 shouldn't interfere with the emergency services, which is one of

03:02 their concerns. So it's in on the West Drive and out on the

03:06 West Drive whilst we build a new access because

03:09 that is our intent, to build a new access of Ballaroa Road.

03:12 And without alluding to the rates too much, I know they've not come out yet at

03:16 all, but for the people of Braddon in general,

03:18 what would you say to them who may be frustrated?

03:21 It's been over budget, would you say, and it's been, it was meant to be in August,

03:25 now it's a bit later on. What would you say to people

03:27 to Braddon who may be a bit slightly frustrated?

03:30 We're all frustrated because it is a year behind,

03:33 but there's been lots of reasons for that. Everything that could have gone

03:36 wrong has gone wrong. It isn't cheap, we understand that,

03:42 but we think we're providing good value for money for our

03:46 residents and also for the whole of the island, there's not just

03:48 restricted to that, so hopefully if we get it

03:52 functioning properly, the income generated will help

03:55 and keep all the rates quite low.

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