The new chairman of a community centre has urged people to use the facility after it was resurrected from the brink of closure.
The South Willesborough and Newtown (SWAN) Centre in Ashford was forced to close in February, after efforts to replace ageing committee members at its last meeting fell flat.
However, after crisis talks among neighbours in the area, a bolstered squad of 15 volunteers has stepped up to take over.
Ahead of its reopening on August 2, head of the new committee Liz Thorne admitted it had taken a while for people to warm up to the idea of running the SWAN – but hoped their efforts would not be in vain.
“Though there were lots of people at the meeting, very few came forward initially as it was quite short notice for such a job,” she explained.
“But we’ve managed to get enough of us, the outgoing board elected us and we’ve got our health and safety sorted, so we’ll open as soon as we can.
“I must admit I didn’t use it much but it’s right on my doorstep and I didn’t want the centre to close, the same as many of us.”
Though owned by Ashford Borough Council, the Turner Close centre is self-funded and run independently from the authority.
It is understood the club is in good financial shape and issues the building previously faced were not linked to any monetary concerns but simply a lack of volunteers.
An engagement day is first on the event list, though most groups using the site before its closure are expected to return.
“We’ll have Brownies, the Women’s Institute, karate and retirement groups as well as dog training,” said Ms Thorne.
“But we want people to tell us what they want, we don’t want it just to be somewhere people hire for parties.
“We’ve had really good feedback, but as always, it’s hard to get our message across.”
People are urged to find the centre on Facebook, using the name Swan Centre Ashford.
The community day will take place on Saturday, August 2 between 10am and 3pm.
