A NEW meeting room and events space has been set up in Old Town to support Swindon businesses and community groups.

The Annexe at Bath Road aims to offer somewhere for small enterprises, students and social clubs that don’t have facilities like a projector, conference room and catering to use for meetings and events.

An NHS team and local youth LGBTQ+ group Out of the Can has organised its monthly meetings to be held at the venue from now on.

Manager of the NHS psychosis service’s early intervention team Liz Cox said: “My team and I use the Annexe to conduct our weekly team meetings and occasional other appointments with our service users.

“Colleagues from the Annexe are friendly when we collect the key, always ensure it is clean prior to our meetings and are always happy to help with any last-minute changes or requests we throw at them.

“It’s central, making it easy to get to, and is a lovely and comfortable space, suitable for a wide range of needs and we couldn’t recommend it enough.”

National housing association Stonewater’s area improvement fund transformed an old hairdressing salon into the new hub and the team behind it hope that it proves popular with businesses and groups around the town.

Swindon-based food business The Sandwich People, is Stonewater’s catering partner at the venue.

Stonewater supported housing regional manager Andrew King said: “I am delighted to announce the creation of this wonderful multi-purpose space.

“Stonewater has been supporting the Swindon community in many ways for a long time by building affordable homes and providing accommodation for young people in the area.

“This is another great opportunity for us to help the community and it is great to see The Annexe in full swing. We encourage all local businesses and community groups to use this fantastic facility and to get to know Stonewater as they do so.”

The supported housing team is managing enquiries from those interested in using the space. To find out more, email Jennie Rubel at theannexe@stonewater.org