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