Community centre is set to become special needs school

BUILDING RETURNS TO ITS ROOTS

- By JULIA BREENS

RETURN TO EDUCATION: The former Westfield Community Centre in Hinckley was built as a school in the 1930s

A COMMUNITY centre is to become a school for up to 75 children with special educational needs.

Councillors who met to decide the fate of the former Westfield Community Centre in Hinckley voted unanimously to change the use of the building after hearing hundreds of children in the county were on waiting lists for specialist school places.

The 1930s building, in Rosemary Way, was originally built as a school, but became a community facility in later decades.

A nursery and preschool were based there, along with other activities including bowls, dancing, art classes and a toy library.

The community centre was put up for sale last year after struggling due to a lack of funding.

Speaking to committee members, Dr Amy Hopkin, founder of the Hopedale Group, which runs six special educational needs (Send) schools across the Midlands and the North East, called the centre a "valued local building", and said the proposals would return it "to its original purpose".