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Thanks all...they got very little financial assistance actually - it's a local company doing very well and they are making a small fortune at the moment, following the Bank Holiday helicopter accident in the N.Sea - they manufacture specialist baskets for people and kit to go between the supply ships and the oil rigs and, understandably, have been somewhat stretched.
Yes, I have thought too about those past generations educated there. Far better this use than what was there before, a decaying building, part of it used as a Honda lawn mower centre. I feel quite strongly about such 'encouragement' of use of our civic buildings and there's far more that could be done to turn old houses and shops in town centres back into (quality - to the target market) residences and, in doing so, encourage more small shops, restaurants, bars etc, rather than seeing them decay, or chewing up more green countryside for new-builds.