Coalfields Cash Helps Community Build For The Future

St George's Community Centre in Lupset, Wakefield, is looking forward to getting the builders in thanks to a cash boost of £200,000 from The Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT).  Mary Creagh, MP for Wakefield visited the centre this week (23rd July) to celebrate the news with the local community.

The community enterprise offers services ranging from Ofsted-registered childcare to adult learning, healthy living advice, youth work and IT training to residents of Wakefield's largest housing estate. It provides a base for agencies including the local authority, NHS Wakefield, the Royal British Legion, Wakefield CAB, and the YMCA. 

St George's attracts approximately 20,000 visitors each year and its services and facilities are both approaching capacity due to the limitations of the existing building, though local demand - particularly for nursery places - is still growing steadily. The CRT funding will be used towards the cost of building a single-storey extension to provide a reception and waiting area, and to carry out internal alterations to alter the layout and improve the catering facilities as well as increasing the number of toilets available to the nursery.

Mary Creagh, MP for Wakefield said: "St Georges Community Centre is at the heart of the Lupset estate. I have been impressed with its work as a healthy living centre and its wonderful green gym. This money will allow it to provide even better services to more people and become fully accessible to all members of the community."

Mike Holt, Chair of Trustees at St George's Lupset said: "This support from CRT is vital to the quality of service that we give to our community. It will enable us to encourage more and more people to benefit from being part of our project and will demonstrate the value that we give to them and their well-being."

The Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT) is an independent charity dedicated to social and economic regeneration of coalfield communities throughout the UK. Since it was established in 1999 the trust has awarded grants of more than £150 million to projects that have improved the quality of life in the UK's coalfields regions. For further information, go to www.coalfields-regen.org.uk