Peace Centre sale cash will support other causes

A foundation set up in memory of two boys killed in an IRA bombing will use the money it receives from the sale of its building to support other good causes.

The Warrington Peace Centre's founder Colin Parry said the proceeds will be given out as grants to other organisations that promote ending conflicts.

Mr Parry - whose 12-year-old son Tim was killed along with three-year-old Johnathan Parry when two bombs exploded in Warrington town centre in March 1993 - said the foundation will keep going "until the money runs out".

"We've gone from being grant-seekers to grant-givers," said Mr Parry, 78.

Mr Parry said: "We have been doing this a long time, I think it is inevitable we reach a point where we need something less demanding."

The foundation was set up in the wake of the bombing, in which two IRA bombs hidden in litter bins exploded, killing the two boys and injuring 54 other people.

The Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Peace Foundation opened in March 2000 and worked to bring communities together and help young people and victims of terrorism.

Warrington Town Council has bought the building, in Peace Drive, and plans to refurbish and extend it to become a centre for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The plans for the building have been developed to include classrooms, an all-weather walking track, horticultural learning area and playground.

Mr Parry said the foundation had stipulated that the boys' names should remain on the building.

"It was built as a memorial to two young lads who lost their lives.

"You can't erase history just because the building is changing hands," he added.

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