A MUCH-LOVED community centre which residents have ploughed thousands of pounds into improving is set to be demolished.

Basildon.gov.uk" target="_blank">Basildon Council leader Tony Ball confirmed Park Lodge Meeting Hall, off Nevendon Road, Wickford, will be knocked down and not replaced under plans to sell the site to developers.

The decision has infuriated members of the residents’ committee, which manages the hall for the council, who say it is used by more than 100 children every week, plus adults of all ages.

They claim the council has neglected the hall for years, yet the committee has spent £3,000 installing double-glazed windows, about £1,500 repairing the roof and £1,500 installing ecologically-efficient lights. This has all been done in the past few months.

The work was funded through subscriptions residents paid to the committee for using the hall for dance, exercise and martial arts classes.

Committee member Michael Ball, 21, of Cedar Avenue, Wickford, said: “We’re heartbroken.

“We had to pay to change the windows and fix the roof ourselves, because the council wasn’t interested.

“Now it’s in good condition and should be a really good asset for the community for years to come.”

Chris Harvey, 62, who has run judo and jujitsu classes in the hall for 30 years, added: “The council says the hall is run down and no one uses it, but they’re wrong.

“We have over 100 children using it for martial arts and dance classes every week.

“All ages use the hall, including pensioners who come for mobility classes.”

The committee currently does not have to pay rent to the council.

Mr Harvey said: “We’ve offered to take the hall on a long-term lease, which would involve annual payments, but the council isn’t interested because it would rather not have us here.”

The council plans to raise a large sum through selling-off the hall, a nearby row of six shops, off Nevendon Road, and 26 maisonettes.

It is understood the developer would be expected to demolish the exisiting buildings and replace them with a new shopping parade and dozens of homes. But the hall would not be replaced.

No plans have so far been submitted for the site, and the land has not yet been sold.