How you can support new Kettering community centre

A new Kettering community centre is seeking volunteers and committee members who can spare a few hours to help support and run it.

The Maplefields Community Centre, in Britannia Road, will be a facility to benefit those in the All Saints and Brambleside areas of the town.

The Maplefields Community Centre committee was founded by then-councillors Bill Parker and Lesley Thurland in 2013 and a small team of dedicated volunteers have been working hard for many years behind the scenes.

Planning permission was granted in 2019 to convert the former Maplefields School sports hall into a community centre.

The committee have worked closely with Chris Wardrop, who is developing the adjacent former school site, to secure a 20-year lease for the old sports hall.

Many local businesses and residents have given generously to support the community centre project. In April, the community centre was featured on the TV show ‘Scrap Kings’.

Now an open evening will be held there on Thursday, October 7, at 6pm for anyone that is interested in volunteering and wants to join the Maplefields Community Centre team.

Chair of the committee Lesley Thurland said: “After several years of hard work we are now at a critical stage of this exciting and much needed hub for community well-being.

"We are looking for passionate and driven volunteers who have the vision to help us to see the project through to completion for the benefit of all residents in the local and wider community.”

The community centre, that will cost £50,000 to set up with services and the cost of the building, will have its own car parking and will be open to all members of the community with interest already been shown from groups wanting to hire it.

It will have separate male and female changing rooms, a reception area and a large main hall. There will be 16 parking spaces, plus five disabled spaces and bike and motorbike space.

The committee would like to hear from anyone who would like to join and become a custodian of the venue for future generations, or simply give a few hours of their time on the renovations or running of the scheme. DIY skills or experience in renovating properties would be a distinct advantage.

For more information, email [email protected] or visit https://www.facebook.com/maplefieldscommunitycentre/.