Management of Broadgreen Community Centre has been handed back South Swindon Parish Council and is now set to reopen.
Before reopening the centre for public use, the council is now asking for views via a consultation on what the local community would like to see the building used for.
The Salisbury Street building was transformed into a walk-in testing site in 2020 and tested hundreds of people over the course of two years before closing in April this year in line with the country-wide lifting of lockdown restricitons.
Broadgreen Community Centre, situated between Broad Street and Manchester Road, had been run by the parish council since 2017, until it was closed and repurposed as a NHS Covid-19 site in the height of the pandemic.
In the past it catered to a wider range of activities and community events.
As well as the online survey, Parish Councillors have delivered hard copies of the survey to residents living near to the community centre.
Junab Ali, central ward parish councillor, spoke about how the parish council had saved the building from closure in 2016 and was keen to see it continue to be used.
“Broadgreen Community Centre is in the heart of Central Swindon and has been a very valued facility in the past. The Parish Council has always recognised the vital role in the community for such a facility, saving it from closure in 2016 by using it as the Parish Council base, investing in staff and resolving dilapidation issues.
"The community centre closed when Broadgreen became a crucial drop in testing point in the battle against Covid-19. We were only too ready to ensure we played our part in an area that was disproportionately affected by the first wave of the pandemic.
"Now the testing centre has been demobilised we will be looking to re-open Broadgreen Community Centre in the near future. But before we do that, we want to understand residents views on what they would like to see at the community centre.
"All residents can take part in the consultation, but we are particularly interested in the views of residents living near to the centre. Please take time to complete the consultation.”
Please follow the link below and let us know what you want from your local community centre. - https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6MD6CVQ
If you have any queries please feel free to contact us at: broadgreen@southswindon-pc.gov.uk.
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