£1m transforms Saint Werburghs into Bristol hub

Area:

South West England

Programme:

Community Assets

Release date:

23 3 2009

St Werburghs Community Centre, one of Bristol’s busiest and most loved community buildings has had its Community Assets Government grant of close to £1 million confirmed today. The major grant means the main building can be refurbished and extra capacity delivered through a spacious new annexe.

As part of the £994,484 grant, once the work is completed Bristol City Council has offered St Werburghs Community Association the building on a long-term 35-year lease for the asset to benefit the community.

Work will start on the St Werburghs Community Centre this summer. It is just one of dozens of projects across the country to receive a Community Assets grant, funded by the Office of the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office and delivered by Big Fund, the non-Lottery funding operation of the Big Lottery Fund.

The Centre will be transformed from a well-used community centre into a modern community hub fit for the 21st Century and able to benefit and accommodate more people and local organisations, voluntary groups and charities than ever before. It already is home to a wide range of services and activities that involve fitness, accredited courses, IT and adult learning.

The refurbished asset will continue to provide a base for existing tenants including KHASS that supports Asian families with special needs children; Hi-Road studios, a youth music group for young people at risk and Bristol Wireless which recycles computer waste and provides training opportunities.

Detailed plans and artistic impressions of the new annex and information about the refurbishment can be viewed at the Centre on Horley Road or contact St Werburghs on 0117 955 1351.

Linda Bell, Project Manager at St Werburghs Community Centre said, "The Centre is one of the most active and well used community resources in the city. Due to its excellent customer service and popularity, the Centre always had a shortage of meeting rooms and usable community spaces. The improvements and new annexe will provide much needed service in the area. The project is intended to start work this summer and be completed by spring 2010. The work won’t stop current activities; it will be planned in such a way that minimal disruption is caused to existing users and activities at the Centre."

Kevin Brennan MP, Minister for the Third Sector, said, “The Government is investing £30 million across the country into excellent community projects such as St Werburghs Community Association. Facilities such as these are much needed by voluntary and community groups, particularly during these challenging economic times when people are increasing calling on community support.”

Mark Cotton, BIG’s Head of Region for the South West said, “This project is a great example of a community project that will benefit the wider East Bristol community together with disabled adults and children, unemployed people, young people, older people, refugee families and asylum seekers.”

Further Information

Big Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours contact: 07867 500 572
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030
Textphone: 0845 6021 659

Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Notes to Editors

• Community Assets is a non-Lottery programme funded by the Office of the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office.
• The Big Fund is the non-Lottery funding operation of the Big Lottery Fund.
• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG) distributes lottery funding to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. It also uses its expertise in grant-giving to distribute non-Lottery funding. BIG has been appointed to distributed around £30 million of Government funding through Community Assets
• The aim of Community Assets is community empowerment. It will do this by facilitating the transfer of genuine assets from local authorities to the third sector for the benefit of the community.  Community Assets will bring about the following outcomes:

1. Local third sector organisations have greater security and independence, and are better able to meet the needs of the communities they serve.
2. Communities have more access to better facilities that respond to their needs.
3. There is more effective partnership working between local authorities and the third sector.

• The range of activities to be offered by the recipients of Community Assets in principle grants includes:

1. Holiday play facilities and activities for parents and pre-school children
2. Facilities for young people providing alternative education services, evening coffee bar, leisure facilities, professional advice and guidance, anti-gun and knife crime events
3. GP referrals, healthy eating service, facilities offering keep fit classes, group wellbeing activities, a wheelchair service, therapy and rehabilitation services
4. Adult education, training courses, addiction assistance, ICT facilities and employment opportunities in deprived areas
5. Lunch clubs and tea dances for the elderly
6. Theatre events, rehearsal space, music facilities, venues for music events, creative arts groups and experimental art exhibitions
7. Meeting rooms, office services and facilities for smaller local groups including BME communities
8. Workshops, training rooms and support to local business start-ups
9. New tourism and leisure destinations

• The Office of the Third Sector was formed (OTS) in May 2006 in recognition of the increasingly important role the third sector plays in both society and the economy. It aims to drive forward the Government's role in supporting a thriving third sector, and join up sector-related work across government: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector.
• From 30 March to 23 June 2007 the Office of the Third Sector ran a public consultation on how Community Assets will work.  A wide range of local authorities and third sector organisations responded to the consultation. The Office of the Third Sector summarised the responses and explained how they will influence the final programme on 10 August 2007.
• The Community Assets fund was first proposed last year in the Pre-Budget Report (6 December 2006).
• http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/makingassetswork

Tags