Cam to get community heart (From Gazette Series)

Cam to get community heart

11:09am Friday 12th March 2010 in

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THE LONG-awaited "heart of Cam" development is set to be built by 2012, years after the idea was first conceived.

The wheels have been set in motion to build the first phase in a masterplan to create a village heart for Cam.

Local councillors are overjoyed to finally be moving towards developing land in the centre of Cam for the benefit of the community after years of trying to push forward the project and suffering numerous setbacks.

A new community centre, with parish council offices and a café, will be built in Chapel Street within two years.

The plans got the go-ahead at a meeting of Stroud District Council’s cabinet committee last week, in which members agreed to hand over land belonging to the authority to Cam Parish Council for no cost.

Land adjacent to the plot, which is part of a wider plan to regenerate the area into a parish focal point with houses and a village green, has not been given to the parish council and its use will be discussed by the district council at a later date.

Cllr Dennis Andrewartha, district and parish councillor for Cam, said he was pleased the land had been secured but was worried that drawing up legal agreements could eat into time that could be spent building. "Obviously Cam welcomes this, but we are very anxious to get moving," he said.

"For Cam this is a high risk venture, with around £300,000 saved to spend on the building and approval to borrow extra funds.

"Our one major concern is the two-year time limit we have been given. Legal agreements with councils tend to take many, many months to complete, we don’t want that to affect this project."

Cllr Joe Forbes, cabinet member for community services, gave assurances that any problems would not stand in the way of the development.

"The time limit is only there because I am very keen that this building is progressed as soon as possible, I have no concerns about the deadline of 2012."

Once complete the building will include council offices, a large meeting room, reception and community café. The options for two further areas of land in Chapel Street are yet to be discussed by the district council, although it is expected that some of the space will be marketed as affordable housing plots.