St Werburgh’s: A community thriving

When was the last time you visited your local community centre? In 2018, it could be argued that community centres are a dying breed. But St Werburgh’s Community Centre  challenges this notion.

Transformed from an old school building into a community centre in 1971, it acts as the very backbone of St Werburgh’s, with around 70,000 people passing through it’s doors each year. The community is represented thoroughly as the centre’s projects are based entirely on what suggestions from its visitors. For example, their new sensory garden was built with 160 volunteers from the community, as this is exactly what they wanted from the centre.

“We serve communities here – communities plural,” says Jon Newey, the centre’s director. “We have to try and create quite a neutral platform. There are people here who are in employment, are relatively decent earners and will come to do more leisure or health activities. Then we also have the other end of the scale – 30 or 40 people per day come through the door who are vulnerably housed and need to access Wi-Fi or charge batteries.”

The newly-built sensory playground, which was once an underused car park

St Werburgh’s Community Centre doesn’t only serve St Werburgh’s itself but also Ashley Down, Lawrence Hill and parts of Easton. Pleasing everyone may seem like an impossible task but this community centre does it seamlessly. “It’s not really one of the challenges,” Jon says. “It’s a challenge to ensure we are always maintaining the level of diversity and engagement and excitement to contribute to such an amazing project. It’s something we do kind of well here, as a centre.”

From a ‘Smash the Patriarchy’ feminist playgroup to over 50’s Tai Chi, it would be impossible to name the extensive list of activities available to partake in.

The community centre garden where ingredients are grown for cooking classes

From the moment you walk in, the sense of community is so hard-hitting it’s impossible to miss. From new mums, to young teens to the elderly, everyone is present. The scent of coffee and tea fills the air and it doesn’t seem too dissimilar to a new-age coffee shop. Every single one of the free access computers are taken, either by a teen or a pensioner.

The hustle and bustle of the centre is by no means overpowering: it feels distinctly welcoming. In Jon’s words, the place has a personality: “Whatever time of day you walk in here you get a sense of different things happening in different spaces here, so it feels like a true community – how I imagine community centres were in the olden days.”

The cafe in the community centre acts as a hub for young and old

“One of the things that I really like here is seeing the kids and grandkids of the people who started this centre up coming in – that multi-generational thing is lovely,” Jon says. “We have baby blessings here, we have teen discos, we have wedding receptions and wakes. There’s something really encapsulating in that idea that I think people forget about.”

St Werburgh’s Community Centre is by no means average, but it should act as an inspiration to other communities, showing the volume of good that can come together when we support one another.

Visit St Werburgh’s Community Centre during their open day on Saturday, July 21 from 11.30am-2.30pm. Find out more by visiting www.stwerburghs.org.uk