A run- down community centre that is a ‘hub for the local community’ yet in a state of disrepair, is set for a new lease of life after receiving £100,000 to transform the building.

The City of London Corporation’s charitable funder, City Bridge Trust, has given £100,000 to the Havelock Family Centre (HFC), in Ealing, to help repair the building and make it fully accessible for all residents.

The funding will go towards expanding the centre’s services, addressing community needs and ensuring the centre is fully inclusive to all. The grant is expected to benefit 1,500 Londoners.

Currently large parts of the building cannot be used and many areas can’t be accessed by disabled people. The refurbishment will make the centre fully accessible and multi-functional, and will create accessible parking, an extension, toilets and a lift.

HFC is the only drop-in family and community centre on Southall’s Havelock Estate.

The centre offers a wide range of services including: information and advice, workshops, a child contact centre, parenting skills programmes, and an arts programme for local young people.

Alison Gowman, Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s City Bridge Trust Committee, said:

“This centre is a hub of activity and support for the local community but it’s currently not reaching its full potential due to the poor state of the building.

“The funding will make it fully accessible so more people can enjoy and benefit from the activities on offer.

“City Bridge Trust is committed to tackling disadvantage across the capital and making London a fairer and better place to live.”

Dilmohan Singh Bhasin, Trustee of the Havelock Family Centre, added:

“We are overwhelmed by the City Bridge Trust award of £100,000 to provide accessibility for our service users and helping us to finally achieve a modern inclusive building.

“The funding will be used for accessible toilets, a passenger lift, ramp, better signage and widening internal doors for wheelchair users who currently cannot enter the building beyond the waiting area.

“We are ecstatic that our service users with reduced mobility will now be able to participate in broader activities which we were unable to offer for so many years.”

City Bridge Trust is London’s biggest independent grant giver, making grants of £20 million a year to tackle disadvantage across the capital. The Trust has awarded around 7,500 grants totalling over £360 million since it first began in 1995. It helps achieve the Corporation’s aim of changing the lives of hundreds of thousands of Londoners.

ENDS

Media Enquiries

Kristina Drake

Media Officer, City of London Corporation

Kristina.Drake@cityoflondon.gov.uk

07710860884 / 020 7332 1125