Diss Youth and Community Centre (DYCC) survey to be discussed by town council as site’s future still unclear
A decision on the future of Diss Youth and Community Centre is set to be put on hold – until plans for a wider development are finalised.
In late 2023, the centre was closed following the discovery of reinforced aerated autoclave concrete in the building.
Since then, the town council, which owns and manages the centre, has been considering options for the Shelfanger Road site.
A recent public survey examined three potential options:
► Repairing and refurbishing the current building and its roof.
► Constructing a new facility on the existing site.
► Selling the site and building a new centre on Diss Sports Ground.
While the full results of the survey have not yet been released, the Diss Express understands there was broad support for either repairing the roof (option 1) or building a new centre on the site (option 2).
The stumbling block with both of those options is the money involved, with a refurbishment said to cost between £500,000 and £750,000 and a full rebuild between £1.5 million and £2.5 million.
With the district council committed to a £16 million regeneration of Diss, including the new-look swim centre and proposals to build a new leisure centre, GP surgery and bus station, the town council is set to play a waiting game before deciding its next step.
Critical to this will be what South Norfolk Council decides to do with the old John Grose site.
Town council clerk Sarah Villafuerte-Richards confirmed the authority would conduct more research, including a detailed review of the preferred options, while working in close collaboration with the district council and other stakeholders prior to making any decision on the community centre.
“We encourage the public to respond to any future consultations to help guide decision making and ensure we get the best outcomes for Diss taxpayers,” she said.
A presentation of the survey results is set to take place at the town council’s meeting next week.
