After many months of hard work and planning the final piece of the jigsaw has fallen into place enabling the Lanner and District Silver Band to start building a state of the art band headquarters.
Original site
The project will cost £283,000, and the new headquarters will be built on the site of the original band room. The site is currently used by the Lanner Scout Troop who has been closely associated with the new development and will share the facilities.
Grown
Band Chairman, Lee Rouse told 4BR: "The band has grown considerably over the last 2 years, particularly with the inception of the Lanner Brass Academy.
The major stumbling block to completion was financing the project. When the Sita Cornwall Trust recently announced a new Flagship Fund and invited applications for assistance with major community projects, it seemed a heaven sent opportunity for the band."
Short listed
Leon Youlton, Band President added: "We submitted an application and were delighted to learn that we were short listed. Sita Cornwall Trust Board heard from several groups about projects deserving of their support.
We were over the moon when they told us a few days later that they had decided to provide £200,000 for our project to go ahead. Together with the sale of our current bandroom and other resources available to us, we now have everything to see our plans completed."
Together with the sale of our current bandroom and other resources available to us, we now have everything to see our plans completedLeon Youlton, Band President
Community base
Band Secretary, Jeremy Gilbert explained that the new facility will benefit the whole Lanner community: "The band has very strong links with the local community and, although the focus of the new headquarters will be musically orientated, we are keen that the whole community will be able to benefit from this development — from NHS community patient groups and Morris Dancers to a tuba quartet and a Ska band."
Completion
The project is due for completion in April and the band is already starting to plan a spectacular opening event where it hopes to welcome representatives of Sita Cornwall Trust to see the positive impact their collaboration with the project will bring.
