TARPORLEY Parish Council has provided crucial funds so more than £20,000 worth of urgent repairs can be carried out to prevent the closure of the village community centre.

Members unanimously agreed to grant the community centre up to £10,000 when they met on Monday night to discuss the issue at their monthly council meeting.

Cllr Graham Lees, who is on the community centre management committee, told members there was ‘a danger we’re going to have to close the doors’ unless repair work is carried out immediately.

It comes after a fire risk assessment revealed the facility posed a ‘moderate risk’ to members.

“It means in the event of a fire, there is a reasonable chance some people could be severely injured and it could actually lead to death, it’s something that can’t be ignored,” explained Cllr Lees.

An estimated £4,680 worth of work needs to be carried out within one month.

This includes roof repairs as there is a danger water could leak on to the electrics.

In under three months further work – estimated to be worth more than £16,000 – must be completed, including having secure fire exit doors, replacing the electrical distribution boards, upgrading the emergency lighting system and bringing the fire detection sensors up to the required standard.

In total, Cllr Lees, who will step down from the management committee next month, says it will cost about £22,000 for all the work to be carried out.

He says the community centre can ‘stretch’ to cover half the total costs, but it will leave them with little in reserve.

In the long term, Cllr Lees said the community centre roof will need to be replaced as the felt is between 50 and 60 years old.

That would cost in the region of £40,000 and require applying for grants, he explained.