Sands End Community Centre revamped

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1.9 million project includes library, sports facilities, crèche and free computer access.

Services for children, adults and families have come together at the new Sands End Community Centre, which has just undergone a £1.9 million revamp.

The new centre, at 59 Broughton Road, Fulham, now houses the library service; adult education; sports development and fitness and Sure Start South's early years and family support services.

This means that local residents have a unique combination of services and facilities available under one roof, catering for under fours to over 50s. These include a refurbished crèche and pre-school facilities, large gym and sports hall, pottery and jewellery workshops and free access to computers and the internet.

The improvements have been funded by the council, the Learning and Skills Council, Sure Start South and other organisations.

At the launch of the new centre on Saturday (16 October), families enjoyed a free day of taster sessions, demonstrations and fun activities - ranging from arts and crafts, storytelling, climbing wall and pottery to jewellery making, dance, sports and computer sessions.

The mayor, Cllr Charlie Treloggan, who officially launched the centre, said: "The new Sands End Community Centre brings together some of the best local educational, recreational, support and training services into a single, convenient base at the heart of south Fulham. Residents will be delighted to find such a wide range of services in one place and the services will also reap the benefits of working together by increasing the numbers of local people using the centre. This is a really exciting time for Sands End, which underlines our commitment to lifelong learning, and I wish the new centre every success."

Services at the new Sands End Community Centre:

Adult education
Pottery; jewellery; stained glass; mosaics; digital and traditional photography; English as a second language; literacy and numeracy; computing; web design; keep-fit; dance.

Sure Start South
Early education (including parents as first teachers programme), childcare and childminding network, family support (including home visits), midwife, health visitor, speech and language therapist, 'little kickers' early years football coaching, crèche, baby massage, community librarian, special needs support, mobile toy library.

Sports development
Agewell programme for older people, junior programme for under 11s, disability sports, badminton, basketball, weight training, cardiac rehab, base for local sports clubs, dance, martial arts, table tennis, multi-sports camp and summer activities.

Sands End Library
Free internet access; DVDs and CDs; arts, craft and storytelling for children; bestsellers; newspapers and magazines; talking books; language courses; reading groups and special events, including author visits.

 

October 24, 2004