Bridgwater Town Council has recently taken ownership of the RECREATION community building from the YMCA and will now set about renovating the building before reopening it back to the community. Town Councils community officer AnnMarie Gould has organised a public Community Consultation at ReCreation on Thursday 25th May 10am- 6pm. AnnMarie says “At the consultation we would like to meet members of the Hamp Community to talk about the renovation plans and seek their views on a range of areas on how the ReCreation Community Hub can provide support to the community and that it becomes a place they can use. We are also seeking the Hamp Community’s views on other matters relating to the Hamp area. We would like to invite people to pop in and say hello and have a chat or alternatively send us an email with any thoughts you may have on the role the ReCreation can play in Hamp going forward. We would also be grateful if you could share the details of the event with the community to encourage people to come along.”
Hamp Community Association (HCA) Chair Liz Leavy & Secretary Leigh Redman, commented on behalf of the HCA saying “The community has been asking for some time that Recreation be opened again. Our community welcomes the announcement and looks forward to working alongside BTC to bring forward a program of events that will reach every corner of Hamp old and young. Our young people deserve something dedicated to them that will help build community cohesion. We must support our young people, we hope that our older members will be able to use the centre too, we know that Hamp is looking forward to Recreation being open again”.
HCA support
HCA meets 7pm the first Wednesday of each month, currently at the Hub on Rhode lane, everyone is welcome to our meetings.
Cllr Redman added “HCA welcome the open session to help inform the program and the way Recreation will work for our community, we encourage any interested people to attend and look forward to hearing the outcome.”
Town & County backing
Cllr Brian Smedley, Leader of Bridgwater Town Council and Unitary Councillor for Bridgwater South, which includes Hamp, said “This is a really important decision by Bridgwater Town Council, backed by the County and by the Together Team that was set up by Sedgemoor to engage with communities across Bridgwater.”
“We really need the people of Hamp to reclaim this building, to get involved in deciding it’s future use and then, crucially, to actually use it. Town is putting money into this and we made sure that Sedgemoor also set aside legacy money before it went for the project too. Myself and County ward councillor Kathy Pearce will also be delegates to the HCA to help take this forward working with your Town Council reps. That’s a lot of people rooting for Hamp!”
Cllr Kathy Pearce added “This really is an opportunity for a new start. The Town Council has shown faith that this Centre has a bright future in the community. We look forward to seeing you on the 25th!”
Information
You can find details of the event via the Town Council website here- ReCreation Community Consultation Day – Rhode Lane Bridgwater – Bridgwater Town Council (bridgwater-tc.gov.uk)
And via the Facebook event here – https://fb.me/e/2GuohUIFg