A COMMUNITY centre in Stratton was reopened under new management this week after the former parish council offices were signed over to Swindon Youth for Christ.

Last month, Stratton St Margaret Parish Council signed over the lease to Meadowcroft, in Addison Crescent, to the Swindon Youth For Christ (SYFC), who have taken over responsibility for the offices and community rooms at the centre.

On Wednesday, they reopened the building as the Meadowcroft Community Centre, and it will now serve as a resource hub for their town-wide youth work team.

It will still be available for hire for parties, events and weekly activities.

Chris Priddy, director at SYFC, said: “It was a wonderful event, there were several members of the public there and we cut the ribbon and ate some cake.

“We also worked out that it was 30 years since the community centre was first opened, so it also ended up being a celebratory anniversary event too.”

Mr Priddy wanted to take on the building once he was aware that the council were looking for a new organisation to run the centre.

He said: “I used to be a resident in the parish and Stratton does really have a place close to my heart.

“I had been working with the parish council for a while.

"It seemed like a good opportunity to work even more closely and to help to bring the community centre back into the heart of the community.

“We are really excited to have this opportunity to manage the community facility at Meadowcroft and to make it a really valuable place for the community to use.

“I am excited by the range of groups already using the centre for pilates, martial arts, Tunes ‘N' Tots and the Thursday Club and I hope that we can encourage more local groups to use the centre in the future too.”

Councillor John Foley, chairman of Stratton St Margaret Parish Council, attended the opening as well as Swindon mayor Teresa Page.

“The council is delighted to be working with SYFC, who are injecting a new lease of life at Meadowcroft Community Centre,” he said.

“We were very impressed with their tender showing such commitment to work with the next generation of Swindon as well as continuing to offer the venue for the local community to hire.

“As a local Upper Stratton resident I am really pleased to see the halls being used to their full capacity as was planned some 30 years ago.”

The building was first opened more than 30 years ago by Councillor PL Jefferies, the mayor of Thamesdown, and Mrs UA Owen, the incumbent chairman of the parish council.

Since then, it has served both the parish council administrative team and the local community who have made use of the facilities.

Last year, Stratton St Margaret Parish Council moved their administrative hub over to specially built new facilities in Grange Leisure, in Grange Drive, where they were better able to work alongside the parish staff team based at the centre.

To find out more about the centre visit www.meadowcroft.org.uk or e-mail office@meadowcroft.org.uk