Hoddlesden community centre stripped of asbestos (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Hoddlesden community centre stripped of asbestos

10:06am Friday 6th January 2012 in Hoddlesden By Catherine Pye, Reporter

DANGEROUS asbestos has been stripped out of a popular Hoddlesden community centre.

Members of the East Rural Youth and Community Association (ERYCA) had to take swift action after finding the carcinogenic material in a boiler room of the Carus Centre, which they intended to renovate.

With funds tight, the only option was to approach companies for grants, and recycling company SITA stepped in to cover the £2,500 costs.

ERYCA chairman Bert Clarke said: “The news was not good and urgent work was required.

“We raised some cash with events and coffee mornings, but we were still short. We applied to SITA for a grant and were successful.

“The asbestos dated back to the 1940s and specialists had to remove it from the dry lining of the walls and ceiling.

“Without the grant from SITA, I don’t know what we would have done. We’re all very grateful that this was sorted out quickly and professionally.

“We now hope to bring the room into use for the community.”

The Carus Centre, in Queen Street, is used throughout the week for sessions including computer classes, a youth club, an autumn club, and pre-school children’s activities.

Members of ERYCA have been fundraising for years through coffee mornings and art exhibitions, and scraped together £2,000 to refurbish the toilets.

Mr Clarke added: “This is at the heart of the community and it’s nice to have it safe and renovated.”

The Carus Centre was purchased by the residents of Hoddlesden in 1978 and was known as Hoddlesden Youth Club and Community Association, managed by a volunteer management committee.

Cash was raised by door to door weekly collections to pay the mortgage.

In 2004 ERYCA was established, and members renamed the building as the Carus Centre – an acknowledgement to the wider area funding received from the Regeneration Group and the Carus Company in Hoddlesden.

Asbestos is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the UK.

It was used extensively as a building material in the UK until the mid-1980s for a variety of purposes including fireproofing and insulation.

Asbestos fibres can cause serious diesases when inhaled, such as mesothelioma, lung cancer, the debilitating asbestosis, and diffuse pleural thickening.