Marlborough Road Community Hub marked its official opening by holding a fantastic family day for the local community on Tuesday 26 May.
The community hub in Broughton has quickly established itself as a valued space shaped and led by local people. With a story spanning years, this week’s family day has been a hugely welcome milestone in the hub’s history – one which reflects and celebrates what it represents in terms of ‘community’.
Offering a food pantry, sports hall, allotment space and a host of activities, the hub brings people together around shared interests, strengths and ideas. The hub initially opened in 2024, but its beginnings stretch back further – originally growing out of an initiative led by pupils to create a pantry that brings people together to reduce food waste and share resources locally.
The pantry, which is now run by local residents, has been supported over the years by local businesses which have all got behind a shared commitment to supporting one another. From there, an allotment space was established to create a homegrown supply of fresh vegetables and fruit for the pantry. That was followed by a range of additional activities including a conversation café, walking football and yoga, among other things.
Taking advantage of existing space on the Marlborough Road school site, the hub was officially opened in 2024 but was temporarily closed within a few days following a fire. Even during this time, local groups came together to keep activities going in alternative spaces. Now, with all the repairs completed and the hub fully functioning, the official opening was the perfect opportunity to showcase all that it has to offer and the momentum that has been building.
During the Fun Day, there were a range of activities on offer including karate sessions, a bouncy castle, archery, face painting and a tombola. Barnados, which runs sessions in the hub, ran activities for children giving them a taste of what is on offer on a regular basis. Thanks to sponsorship from Starbucks, there was an ice cream van giving out free ice cream to children whilst local traders had stalls selling a range of products.
Commenting on the day, Judith Richens, Youth and Communities Development Lead at Marlborough Road Community Hub, said:
“It’s been wonderful to welcome our local community today and to celebrate everything our hub has to offer. This hub has grown organically over a number of years and represents a community of people working together to support one another, in the ways they choose to.
“Everything that the hub now offers has been developed from an idea or an initiative from within our community – not from outside it – which is part of what makes it special.
“There is so much going on here on a daily basis and we’re always looking at how we can expand what we are doing. Thank you to our fantastic volunteers who volunteers who share their time, skills and energy to support the hub and make it such a welcoming and inclusive place.”
One of the most popular stalls was run by 12-year-old Deborah who was selling crochet hair scrunchies and bookmarks that she had made herself. Having successfully applied for seed funding from United Communities, Deborah set up and has been running a popular crochet club on Monday evenings in the hub. Deborah even helped promote the family day – handwriting invitations to go out to all the guests locally.
Judith Richens added:
“It’s been such a pleasure to support Deborah as she set up the crochet club. This was entirely her own idea as she wanted to share her love of crochet and bring people together. I am so pleased we have been able to make this happen and I hope many other young people come forward with their own ideas of what they would like to do. Whatever they want to do, we will always try our best to help them make it a reality.”
The official opening follows an announcement that Marlborough Road Community Hub has received a grant from the National Lottery that will fund it for the next three years. This means the Hub will be able to extend its opening hours so it can be used in the evenings and weekends.