A COMMUNITY centre which has hosted a wide range of activities from football tournaments to election counts celebrates its tenth anniversary this weekend.

Malton Community Sports Centre was officially opened by then Archbishop John Sentamu on February 28, 2011.

In those 10 years it has seen over 50 different sports teams use the site as their base for training and matches, while also hosting organisations such as the NHS Blood Service and mammogram screening unit, as well as acting as a ballot counting centre for local and national elections.

The Centre was a dream come true for the Derwent Sports Centre Association which had been campaigning for 35 years for just such a facility to be built and during that time raised over £50,000 for the build. The rest of the funding came through grants from a number of organisations including Ryedale District Council, North Yorkshire County Council, Malton School and the Football Foundation.

The Centre has spent much of the last year with its doors closed to the public due to the ongoing pandemic, but during that time, like so many other venues it has offered online classes and has kept in regular contact with users and clubs.

Jay Rowley, Facilities Manager at Malton School, who has been involved with managing the centre since it opened said: “Whilst it’s really sad that the Centre will spend this major milestone with its doors closed to the public, we are really excited about the future with more classes planned and more joint working. It’s also incredible to think how far we’ve journeyed in that time. I can’t wait to see what the next 10 years will bring.”

Headteacher of Malton School, Rob Williams, who was heavily involved in the campaign to deliver the facility, said: “We set out to be a centre of excellence for sport and leisure for Malton and Norton and the surrounding villages and this remains our drive and ambition. The plan was always to deliver phase two, an outstanding fitness suite and function/training room. We hope, in partnership with Ryedale District Council, to be able to deliver on this long held dream in the near future.”