A Swindon-based refugee charity has found a new permanent home for the next ten years. 

The Harbour Project will be moving into Broadgreen Community Centre in January 2023,  following major refurbishment work taking place at the centre.

The South Swindon Parish Council-run centre had been previously used for Covid-19 testing since March 2020, until that stopped in 2021, with considerations being made by the council over the building's future. 

The Harbour Project, founded in 2000, has become the main charity in Swindon supporting refugees and asylum seekers arriving in the town and because of this it had outgrown its current headquarters in St Luke’s Church on Broad Street.

The Harbour Project approached the parish council about moving to the centre, and in September, parish councillors took the decision to grant the Harbour Project use of the community centre through a lease arrangement.

Claire Garrett is the director of the Harbour Project.

She said: “We are really excited by the move - excited to be in a building more fitting to our needs where we can offer help, advice and activities for asylum seekers and refugees living in Swindon.

"We are immensely proud of what we do and the impact that we make and are proud to be moving to Broadgreen Community Centre as part of our next chapter.”

This sparked a series of improvements and repairs, with nearly £140,000 being invested in the centre by the Parish Council and the Harbour Project.

Works include the leaky flat roof being replaced at the community centre, a new access control system which will include the introduction of an electronic bollard to access the car park and refurbishments to the interior to make the centre fit for purpose.

Once the work is finished and the Harbour Project has moved in, the Parish Council will once again be able to take public bookings for the main hall of the community centre and the former activity and youth rooms at the centre.

South Swindon Parish Council chair, Chris Watts, said: “We are so pleased to have the Harbour Project moving in to Broadgreen Community Centre. They will be providing the parish council with a competitive rent and in return will be getting a fully refurbished facility that meets their requirements for supporting Swindon’s refugees and asylum seekers.

“I am also delighted that the Community Centre will be available to the public once again after being shut for so long."

The Harbour Project plan to reopen their services at Broadgreen Community Centre on the week commencing 9th January.