A COMMUNITY centre in Penhill which had been left to decay for five years has been reopened and refurbished by a dedicated team of volunteers.

Dawn and Kevin Praner started a temporary tenancy at the Chippenham Close Community Centre in 2019 and are now in the final stages of finishing a major refurbishment which the pandemic paused.

They worked with Anna Pearson of The Breyer Group, which helped to pay for the new roofing and walls as well as supplies to make bird and bat boxes which will be donated and sold to neighbours and other community projects.

Dawn works with the Renew scheme to promote upcycling and reusing furniture, and hosts woodworking and upcycling sessions in the community centre's hall every week.

The fruits of their labours have been used by the Swindon Community Hub in The Parade. They will soon be allowing people to book the hall for events and activities.

They also run a food-share in partnership with Swindon Night Shelter each Friday to give bread, fruit and veg, meat and a packed meal to those in need. The number of people this helps each week has doubled from 50 to 100.

Dawn said: "Lower Penhill had not had a community centre for years until we took over and started tidying it up. It was a complete mess.

"The garden was so overgrown you couldn't see the path, the walls were black with grime, it took a lot of work.

"Our workshops help a wide range of people, some have learning difficulties or mental health problems.

"It's nice to be able to give something back to the community with this flexible space."

Anna Pearson added: "What they have done with this centre is absolutely amazing."

Swindon Advertiser: The team which has helped to revamp Chippenham Close Community CentreThe team which has helped to revamp Chippenham Close Community Centre

As of Thursday, the centre is officially a community interest company and can work on obrtaining a permanent lease for the building from Central Swindon North Parish Council.

The centre will be hosting an open day on Saturday to give people in the area a chance to have a look around, learn more about it - and have pizza and ice cream.

Penhill Street Reps will present bird and bat boxes to their new owners, Breyer Group will donate two laptops for community use, and visitors can learn more about upcycling furniture and watch demonstrations of pyrography (burning on wood) and the Frenchic paint sold by the centre to raise funds.

The event will be held from 11am to 2pm.