NUNEATON’S largest employer has stepped in to save a busy borough community centre from the axe.
Wembrook Community Centre faced closure when Warwickshire County Council reviewed its youth work budget last year.
But young people, pensioners and other user groups are celebrating the news that its future has been safeguarded.
The centre in the grounds of George Eliot School in Raveloe Drive was declared surplus to requirements during drastic county council cutbacks.
But the powers-that-be at Shire Hall had a change of heart following a written appeal by Triton Showers.
They took the company’s close links with the Nuneaton Town Community Foundation before taking the decision to allow the centre to remain open.
Also, the Hill Top area is to benefit over the next ten years from a National Lottery `Big Society’ grant and the centre will be available to hire for community activities.
As a result, the building will continue to be used for youth and community work in a new partnership arrangement with the Nuneaton Town Community Foundation based at the Triton Showers Arena in Liberty Way.
Community centre secretary Tim Over said: “We see it as an essential local facility, led by the community for the community, and we are delighted that, thanks to the support of Triton and the Nuneaton Town Community Foundation, we can continue to run youth work and other activities in the foreseeable future.”
He added: “The centre is one of the few community-run facilities in this area of the town and the fact that it will remain open to local residents is fantastic news for the region.”
His sentiments were echoed by Tina Simpson, marketing director at Triton who wrote the appeal letter to the county council which kick-started the campaign that led to the change of heart.
“As the region’s largest employer, we know just how much the local community relies on amenities such as Wembrook Community Centre and felt passionately about the need for the community to continue to benefit from it,” she said.
“Through our partnership with the Nuneaton Town Community Foundation we hope to be able to support the future of the centre in every way we can.”
For details on activities at the centre and how to become a volunteer contact www.wembrookcommunitycentre.org.uk
