MEMBERS of the Abergavenny Community Trust are delighted to announce that all of the Health and Safety works to Park Street School have been completed, and the handover of a three-year lease to the ACT is set for mid January.

The news comes at the end of a long fight to save the former school and make it into a community centre for the town.

Park Street School was put on the market by Monmouthshire County Council in 2009 and Abergavenny Community Trust was formed with the aim of raising funds the buy the school.

After many highs and lows, in 2011 they entered negotiations to lease the building from the council.

After a lengthy period of getting structural work to make the building comply with Health and Safety measures, the council has now announced that the works are complete and the lease is set to be signed early next year.

A spokesperson from Monmouthshire County Council said, "The works have been completed and there are no outstanding matters from the council's perspective. We are working towards completion of the lease midway through January."

This news has been welcomed by members of Abergavenny Community Trust, who have been working with the council to reach this goal for many years and are delighted to see the first stage of their project reaching its conclusion.

Marion Pearse, one of the three directors of the ACT said, ""We have the green light. After ten years of developing a social and business case for the community-led enterprise, we're very pleased to say that we've reached the starting line.

"The building, (grounds and car park) will come into community-ownership in January 2015 and activities will commence immediately. We start with a place to meet and the warmth of people who care about other people that live here. The rest will follow naturally on from the goodwill and the business opportunities, we've collected over the years"

Members of the tireless group have also spoken of their excitement at being able to utilise the large building for their work offering a safe anchoring point for the building and sustaining resilience at a grassroots level.

The vision of the ACT as a social enterprise is to bring people and places together something which springs from a desire to co-create a 'welcoming space where mutual acts of kindness and a sense of inclusion spreads widely throughout the community to have a positive, remedial effect on people's health and wellbeing and upon the natural and built environment'.

With the large site now being made available via lease to the group, they have vowed to make the most of the space for the service they offer.

Mrs Pearce said, The building is a multi-purpose space that lends itself to meet diverse needs across a wide spectrum of local people and possibilities.

"The community centre movement is capitalising on every square foot of the building and grounds to ensure that it puts value back into the lives of people who live in and around Abergavenny.

"We're just volunteers, and that's been the motivation which has sustained the movement for so long."

The directors of ACT have also offered their thanks to Monmouthshire County Council for its support during the long process to get the project off the ground.

Marion said, The local authority, officers and councillors together, have supported our initiative, and the lease contracts put real weight behind the community centre proposals to build local resilience through an offering of practical, informal supports that will be accessible to more people."

Councillor Phil Hobson, cabinet member with responsibility for community development has expressed his delight that this has all worked out for the ACT and wished them the best in their endeavour.

He said, "I'm pleased that Abergavenny Community Trust will take occupation of this scheme for the benefit of the local community. I wish them every success in their venture."

For more about the work of the ACT visit abergavenny-community-trust.org.uk or contact Marion on 07889836361 or visit http://www.abergavenny-community-trust.org.uk">www.abergavenny-community-trust.org.uk