The Core community hub opens at Orchard Park in Cambridge
A new community hub at Orchard Park in Cambridge has opened and charities hope it will help break down barriers to help people access support.
The Core community centre was opened by students at Orchard Park Community Primary School at a ribbon-cutting ceremony last Thursday (30 January).
It lies within the school grounds but can now be used independently too, providing a self-contained space that can be used for healthcare initiatives, educational programmes, including English courses for adults, and by community groups.
Before the refurbishment, funded by the county council, it often sat empty as it was only accessible through the school.
Janice Fuller, chair of governors, said: “Orchard Park Community Primary School has always been at the heart of the community here since it opened in September 2007, which was quite early on in the development of Orchard Park.
“As a community school we are delighted to offer this new self-contained space on our site for use by parents, community groups, support workers, for the purposes of education, health, health promotion and sometimes social occasions as well.
“We hope that the room will complement the meeting facilities at the community centre because we very much value the links that we have with Orchard Park Community Council.”
She added: “The development of the community room was made possible by a grant from the Cambridgeshire Priorities Capital Fund, so we are very grateful to Cambridgeshire County Council for their commitment to the project.
“Orchard Park, only 19 years old, so still just a teenager, is still growing so it is vital that local facilities are further developed to help the community continue to thrive, and to encourage events and activities which enrich local life as a new generation grows up in this part of Cambridge.
“We are delighted to offer this bright airy room to the local community and hope that it will host many events to bring people together and offer new opportunities in this very important part of Cambridge.”
Accessible entry and exit doors have been built, as well as a disabled toilet with nappy changing facilities, isolated security for use outside school hours, and a new kitchen.
Cllr Bryony Goodliffe said the community centre was a “beautiful self contained space” and said it would be “such an important resource for the school and wider community”.
The school plans to offer a range of support services and activities with partners, including programmes for children focusing on nutrition, promotion of physical activities and mental health awareness. Access to speech and language support, health care visitors and social care professionals will also be offered.
Maria David, family worker at Red Hen Project, which supports families in Cambridge who are facing challenges, hoped meeting parents in the relaxed environment of the hub would help the “break that barrier” of people feeling able to ask for support.
She said: “As a charity we often struggle to have venues to bring people together. At Red Hen we work with families and support them, and we need a space sometimes to meet them as it is not always ideal to go to houses, so it is nice to have a space. We are really excited to be about to use this.”
Anita Gatt, clinical services manager for Blue Smile, which offers mental health support and therapy for children in Cambridgeshire, said the room will help its existing work with children at the school. It sees around 10 children from the school a week.
She explained that children who have experienced trauma or are facing difficulties can struggle to access education and the charity helps them to get back in the classroom.
Vera Kladi, an education mental health practitioner, felt the space would improve access to services.
The Core is one of 26 community projects across Cambridgeshire awarded funding by the county council’s communities, social mobility and inclusion committee. Applicants demonstrated how their project supported the council’s ambitions – creating a greener, safer and more caring Cambridgeshire.