The new Townfield Community Centre, unused for years until a partnership of organisations stepped in to transform the building, was enthusiastically welcomed as it opened its doors for the first time on Saturday 23rd January.
Hundreds of people came to celebrate the official opening of the state-of-the-art centre, after it was stripped back to its structure, expanded and improved during an £800,000 nine-month rebuild. The new centre now boasts an internet café, a room for health and beauty treatments, office and meeting space for hire and easy access for people with disabilities. Heating and hot water is provided by an eco-friendly ground source heat pump.
The centre is owned by the London Borough of Hillingdon, but will be managed day-to-day by tenants Age Concern Hillingdon, who plan to run a range of their services for local people from the new building.
A partnership of eight organisations enabled the project to happen:
the London Borough of Hillingdon, Hillingdon Homes, Apollo Construction, Age Concern Hillingdon, Hillingdon Community Trust, Paradigm Housing, the Townfield Residents' Association and the Government's Community Assets fund.
The official launch included a balloon race and a shared celebration with Gillian Farmer, a local lady celebrating her 75th birthday. Visitors also rushed to sign up for free activities being run at the centre in its first week of business – ranging from yoga and children's storytimes to pilates and exploring local wildlife. The new centre can be contacted on 020 8756 4390.
