Conservative Wiltshire Council delivers new Malmesbury community centre

Above: all those who have helped with the development of the centre.

The Conservative administration of Wiltshire Council delivered yet another community building as a new community centre in Malmesbury was officially opened today and is already proving to be a hit with local residents. 

The ribbon of the Wiltshire Council-funded Riverside Community Centre was officially cut by council leader Conservative Councillor Baroness Scott of Bybrook OBE, joined by members of the Friends of Riverside – the local community group which is running the centre.

The investment into the centre is part of the Conservative Wiltshire Council’s £80m health and wellbeing centre and hubs programme, which is improving local community facilities and helping to deliver services in more accessible and convenient places.

Dozens of groups are already using the centre and making use of the facilities. These include the Abbey Flyers running club, the Rise Trust Children’s Centre, the Girl Guides, the Women’s Institute, and many others.

The facility is ideally placed to enable small groups to sustain their activities by taking advantage of the very affordable hire costs.

The building hosts a range of spaces - there are four meeting rooms which can cater from five to 30 people, a dedicated arts and crafts space, a multi-use hall with cafe area, a space to showcase local art work, and free WiFi throughout to help people stay connected.

Speaking at the opening, Baroness Scott said: 

This is a community centre for the whole of the Malmesbury community area and is part of our overall investment to deliver health and wellbeing centres and community hubs across the county.

The organising committee has done a great job and I’d like to say a really big thank you to the Friends for their time and commitment to preparing and running the centre.

“The Friends are local volunteers who have given countless hours to making this building come to life and will, I’m certain, continue to work really hard behind the scenes to build on their success so far.

To find out more information about what's on at the Riverside Community Centre, people should visit www.riversidecommunitycentre.org.uk.

Below: (left to right) Wiltshire Council deputy leader and cabinet member for communities and campuses, John Thomson; leader of Wiltshire Council, Baroness Scott of Bybrook OBE; Chair of the Friends of Riverside, Kim Power.