Guests donned hardhats for the occasion, which took place inside the YMCA Community and Activity Village on Lord Hawke Way, on Thursday 18 November, and saw visitors enter the new venue for the first time.
As the YMCA Village is being facilitated by YMCA Robin Hood Group, which is the regional parent charity of YMCA Newark and Sherwood, the Group’s Chair of Trustees Michael McKeever was among those to show his support at the ceremony.
To mark the development moving to its next phase, project construction lead R G Carter’s time-honoured tradition paid respects to the structure by pouring beer over a yew tree branch at the building’s highest point during the event.
The day was followed by a series of exclusive building tours to give key community partners, including representatives from Newark and Sherwood District Council, a chance to see the full layout of the facilities and gain an insight into the wider vision for the YMCA Village.
The main building will be home to a variety of facilities, including everything from a climbing centre, childcare provisions and rentable offices/desk spaces to therapy rooms, a full digital suite and a community café. These provisions will form part of a wider social mobility agenda to bring jobs and apprenticeship opportunities to the surrounding communities.
Rob Carter, Joint Managing Director at R G Carter said: “We are really pleased to have been able to host this topping out ceremony and to celebrate all the hard work to date of our project team and partners. It’s been great to see YMCA Newark and Sherwood’s vision come to life and has been an absolute pleasure to be able to work on such a forward-thinking development that will make a real difference to the local community.”
Todd Cauthorn, Executive Director at YMCA Newark and Sherwood, said: “This ceremony is particularly exciting as it celebrates a key milestone in the construction of our main building as a place to bring the community together so young people can belong, contribute and thrive.
“With the building taking shape, we can now see where services such as our hireable dynamic therapy rooms and office spaces will be located, and we are now inviting local businesses, clubs and individuals to reach out if they want to use these state-of-the-art facilities.”
An inaugural speech delivered by YMCA ambassador Veronica Pickering DL, HAC (RAF) praised the efforts of R G Carter’s construction team members, who have been working alongside RD Architects on this ambitious project.
Anyone interested in hiring facilities in the main building of the YMCA Community and Activity Village can enquire by emailing: space@ymcans.org.
Photo Credit: matthewpowerphotography.co.uk