Greenway Centre £66k to upgrade community hub

ACOMMUNITY and enterprise hub in Bristol is set to be upgraded after the trust that runs it secured an investment of more than £66,000.

The Greenway Centre in Southmead supports around 1,000 people every month in the north of the city by offering small business units, a sports centre, community classes, as well as specialist support services for those looking to gain employability skills and training.

The pandemic has impacted upon the mostly grant-reliant centre, which usually generates revenue from its rental hire, cafe and gym services.

Southmead Development Trust will use the funds from social investment firm Resonance’s South West Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) Fund to perform essential work on aging parts of the nine-acre site.

It will also help to pay for adaptations to ensure the centre is Covid-19 secure as well as its support for Southmead resident’s wellbeing and health.

According to figures published by Bristol City Council, 15 per cent of the city’s residents are living in the most deprived 10 per cent of areas across England, while a large proportion of Southmead residents, including 32.5 per cent of children, are living in poverty.

Southmead Development Trust’s chief executive Amy Kinnear said: “Hundreds of people come through our doors every week to attend more than 30 wellbeing community classes or groups, training courses, our community gym and cafe, or to work with our many partners on site.

“We are so excited to receive this support from Resonance to invest in some desperately needed improvements to our ageing building, including repairing our leaking roof and extending our fitness studio.”

Katalin Juhasz, Resonance’s senior investment manager for the South West SITR Fund, said: “Southmead Development Trust is such a wellloved and valuable asset to the local community so I am delighted to see it receive this vital investment.

“I am also incredibly proud that this is the 20th investment from the Resonance South West SITR Fund.

“The investment will see crucial improvements to Southmead Development Trust’s buildings and enable Covid-safe adaptations to be made to the Greenway Centre which, in turn, will enable it to continue to grow its services and impressive impact in an area of Bristol with high deprivation and a real need for locally focused community support services.”