PLANS for a long-awaited town centre community building to replace the ageing Druitt Hall are being unveiled at the weekend.

The proposal to replace and relocate the 50-year-old hall adjoining the jealously-guarded Druitt Gardens is one of the main thrusts of the Christchurch Community Partnership conference being held on Saturday.

It has been drawn up by the partnership's generations action group to meet the increasingly urgent need for a modern meeting place facility in the town centre without evoking the opposition of local amenity watchdogs, which has hampered previous efforts to replace Druitt Hall.

The present hall, owned by the Christchurch Housing Society, which opened the building to celebrate the coronation in 1953, has long been earmarked for updating as part of wide-ranging and controversial plans for redevelopment in the town centre.

And hopes of a replacement hall were given added impetus when Christchurch council took over ownership of the Druitt Gardens last year and included improved community facilities in its draft management plan.

The CCP proposals are to demolish the present hall and assign the site to the Druitt Gardens in a land swap to construct the new building on a presently inaccessible and overgrown area adjacent to the Bank Close car park and planned lanes' shopping development.

Preliminary designs for the facility will be on display at the CCP conference and the plans will be discussed in one of the action group workshops to be held during the day.

Conference delegates will also be discussing the proposed Christchurch Harbour management plan, environmental and access issues, health, travel and community safety.

And the partnership is also debating becoming a registered community interest company - CIC - to improve its effectiveness.

Chairman Dr Bob Gilbertson said: "We believe that the Community Partnership is very suitable to become a CIC as it legalises our structure and makes it clear to everyone with a part to play that it will work for the benefit of the community.

"However, we are interested to hear everyone's views before making a final decision and we look forward to seeing all interested parties at the conference."

To find out more and book a place at the conference, contact Laureen Pearce on 01202 495017 or email l.pearce@christchurch.gov.uk or fill in a booking form, available at Christchurch Information Centre and libraries or online at dorsetforyou.com