Lease of life for Avonmouth Community Centre
The Avonmouth Community Centre in north Bristol recently received £20,000 from National Grid’s Community Grant Fund to enable its refurbishment and renovation, giving more choice for local people and providing a home for several community groups.
To continue serving the community and providing a hub for generations to come, Avonmouth Community Centre needed to become more financially resilient. The team at the community centre knew the way to achieve this was to provide more flexible spaces, which could be hired out to local people, groups and community organisations. The grant helped fund the creation of a fantastic new self-contained art room and refreshments area, which local people are already putting to good use.
A new café and kitchen are helping to turn the community centre back into the heart of Avonmouth that it once was, attracting familiar and new faces alike who can enjoy the facilities thanks to the Community Grant Fund.
Many local people and organisations are lining up to hire the new spaces and the community centre is now home to a wide range of events and activities, including Supatots, line dancing, Community Soup and Lunch Club.
The grant has also helped showcase the best features of this Victorian building. The community centre has been able to open up its beautiful ceiling for all to enjoy. The addition of new LED lighting now draws the eye to the historic ceiling above. Additionally, the centre now has a new wooden floor, accessible toilet and double glazing, making it more accessible, sustainable and cost-efficient to operate.
These changes have allowed the centre to bring its historic past to the fore and celebrate it, while providing a new space for future generations to enjoy.
Aden Precious, Project Engineer for National Grid, said: “It’s great to see the community make such good use of the funding. It’s played a vital role in revamping this local hub. The centre proves that refurbishing old buildings with new materials and technologies can help them fulfil their full potential. It need not detract from their character and can even add to it.”
