News / KNowle West
Community centre moves into new multi-million pound premises
A community centre that has been based in a former school for more than 20 years has moved into a new multi-million pound home.
The Park Centre’s new base is made up of two purpose-built buildings next to its old one on Daventry Road in Knowle West.
Its previous premises, which housed Merrywood School until 2000, is now due to be demolished to make way for a new secondary school.
is needed now More than ever
The Park Centre has moved into a new multi-million pound premises – photo: The Park
Emma Hinton, director of The Park, said: “After 21 years in our old building, we’re pleased to be in our brand new premises and still at the heart of the local community.
“It was a tremendous team effort moving across but we are now settled in and we have had lots of positive comments about how nice it is – it’s feeling like home already!”
The Park’s former building is now due to be demolished to make way for the first secondary school in Knowle West in more than 20 years – photo: The Park
The new centre is smaller than the old one, but includes classrooms, conference rooms, a dance studio and gym as well as a cafe in the reception area.
There is also a third new building on the site, which is detached from the other two and will be used by local charity Youth Moves.
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Most of The Park’s tenants, including cookery school Square Food Foundation, have moved into the new facility.
But some have not, such as the now-closed community farm Andy’s Haven, and the local history society, which is now based at Filwood Library.
A boxing club left the site at the end of 2018 so flats could be built in place of the building it occupied there.
Charlie Watts is reporting on Knowle West as part of Bristol24/7’s community reporter scheme, a project which aims to tell stories from areas of Bristol traditionally under-served by the mainstream media
Main photo: KWMC
Read more: Dismay as opening of ‘much-needed’ south Bristol secondary delayed until 2024
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