Around150 jobs couldbe secured in Crowborough after plans to transform the former Wealden District Council offices at Pine Grove into an Enterprise Hub were announced by Crowborough Community Association.
Proposals are being prepared for commercial office space for small to medium-sized enterprises, including start-up businesses, while retaining the library and providing community areas. The plans were due to be announced at the Crowborough town meeting at All Saints Church, Crowborough, on Wednesday(April 9).
“We now feel we can deliver this project,” said Cllr David Larkin, a director of Crowborough Community Association (CCA), which has set up a Community Interest Company (CIC) hoping to buy Pine Grove and turn it into an asset.
“We are in detailed discussions with both potential professional partners and sources of funding and feel confident that our plans meet all their criteria for a successful outcome. In particular, the prospect of bringing jobs to Crowborough and creating new employment opportunities for young people within the town is exciting.
“Combine this with the potential of the Pine Grove building to create a mixture of business and community activities within the same building, each feeding off each other, then the future of Pine Grove looks very compelling indeed.”
In 2012 the CCA delivered the new £3.2 million Crowborough Community Centre, adjacent to the Pine Grove Building, after a three-year campaign to secure planning consent, Wealden District Council support and funding.