11 March 2021
New lease of life for local community as The Clanfield Centre prepares to reopen in June
Community First and Clanfield Parish Council are pleased to announce the planned reopening of The Clanfield Centre in early June 2021, subject to the easing of lockdown restrictions. The revamped and improved community venue will also be home to a new parish council office.
Formerly the Clanfield Sports & Community Centre, the venue will now be known simply as The Clanfield Centre, following a poll of residents regarding the name change. The new name reflects the shared ambition of Clanfield Parish Council and Community First to offer a place where people of all ages from across Clanfield, and the wider southern parishes of East Hampshire, can join in and participate in a wide range of sports and wellbeing activities or just spend time relaxing, meeting up and socialising with friends and family – all things we have missed greatly over the past year.
The new operator, Community First, is a local charity supporting the voluntary sector and local partners across East Hampshire district and Hampshire as a whole and offering a range of community wellbeing services including transport, training and volunteering. The Clanfield Centre will be the second community venue in the county operated by Community First, joining the successful Leigh Park Community Centre in Havant as part of the charity’s portfolio.
Community First and Clanfield Parish Council are grateful to all those who have come forward to volunteer at the Centre and would like to thank the local community for the high volume of thoughtful responses to the residents’ survey distributed in December, which will be used to inform the range of facilities and activities on offer.
Tim Houghton, Chief Executive at Community First, said, “We are thrilled to confirm our plans to take on the running of The Clanfield Centre on behalf of local residents. We’re excited by the opportunity to work with Clanfield Parish Council and while we will be keeping a close eye on the government’s roadmap out of lockdown to ensure that we can open safely, we’re optimistic we will be able to open up from June. We know there are many clubs and groups who want to come back and we want nothing more than to welcome people to play and socialise at the centre. We’d like to thank everyone who has offered to volunteer and to those who have taken time to provide helpful insights in our survey. We look forward to continued engagement and we welcome residents’ ideas for activities and opportunities you’d like to see provided for as we develop this important local space and resource.”
John Bannell, Chairman of Clanfield Parish Council, said “I am delighted that everything is now fitting into place to re-open this major facility for the benefit of our community as soon as it is reasonably possible to do so in line with the expected easing of the Government’s Covid restrictions. It will be a new and exciting beginning in so many ways and it is very welcome news. The opportunity to include a much-needed Parish Office at the Centre is an added bonus.”
Community First will launch a new website for the Centre prior to its reopening, which will give more information about the exciting array of activities and information on booking and joining clubs. In the meantime, residents can keep updated about the latest news on the Community First website and the Clanfield Parish Council website. Any individuals or organisations interested in hiring facilities for classes or groups may contact Hywel Small, Head of Enterprise at Community First, on hywel.small@cfirst.org.uk.