Line dancers welcome new flooring at Brownlow Community Centre

For the last 26 years, side-shuffles and pivot-turns have been tricky business for line dancers at Brownlow Community Centre in Whitchurch.

The old floor, which had been in place for more than 100 years, was becoming unsafe due to "loose floor blocks," Chris Smith, the chair of the community centre confirmed.

“The original beech wood parquet floor was embedded in coal tar pitch, back in 1897, and the pitch setting started to fail about 20 years ago," Chris said.

"One by one the blocks were lifting free. Sticking them back down had become a regular monthly chore for the Brownlow volunteers.”

Now, a new engineered oak floor has been installed in the main hall of the community centre on Claypit Street, after years of fundraising to replace the floor was boosted by a grant from the National Lottery Fund.

A total of £10,000 was also donated from the former Round Table club and a £1,000 donation came from the Country Line Dance Group, known as the ‘Bootscooters.’

Sue Gill, chair of the Whitchurch Country Line Dance group, said: “It’s absolutely wonderful to dance on and everyone feels so much safer without the risk of tripping.”

Terrie Hewitt, the Brownlow Centre’s fundraising chair, thanked the Bootscooters “not just for their generous donation but for their loyalty for more than a quarter of a century.

“The wooden blocks were carefully removed from the old floor and are now giving a new lease of life to another great heritage building that is being renovated nearby.

“We are still fundraising, to keep our magnificent building in active daily use and we hope the town will support our next event – a coffee morning at Whitchurch Civic Centre on Friday.”