This is an Oxford Mail editorial from the Oxford City Council cabinet member for inclusive communities Ajaz Rehman. 

Last week we announced we will invest an extra £1.98 million in the East Oxford Community Centre development, taking the overall development to over £6.7M.

It’s one of our most ambitious community investment projects, so now seems a good moment to remind ourselves what these community spaces mean to the city.

When I ask people about their local community centre, they don’t focus on the building.

What they talk about is the people they meet, the celebrations they’ve been to, the skills they’ve learnt and the chance to get involved in their area.

Ask a grandparent, they might tell you about the fitness class they go to, the crafts their grandchildren have done, the family party their daughter organised.

Ask someone who has moved to Oxford from overseas, they will tell you they go there to celebrate their culture, and probably to get help with living in the UK – the language, the form-filling!

Young people talk about the opportunities, open mic sessions, arts groups, community activism.

We really saw in the pandemic how not having enough space impacted people’s lives.

When there’s not enough space to study, get creative or practice we lose out on our best chances.

A community centre provides that space, it’s affordable for voluntary groups, charities, youth clubs, skills classes and families to book.

When you walk into a community centre, what matters is the group you’re joining not where you’ve come from.

The East Oxford Community Centre has been at the heart of things for around fifty years, it’s served many generations and seen many changes in the local community.

The centre has aged and changed too, and now it needs proper investment.

We want the redeveloped centre to last at least as many generations.

We’re making sure it’s low carbon, with solar panels and heat pumps, for our planet’s future.

We’re designing spaces that can easily be divided and expanded, so more groups can find the venue they need.

We’re building for digital needs with power and connectivity, so it’s ready for new opportunities.

As we take the next steps in the redevelopment, we know we’re investing in much more than a building.

But the design matters too. We’re keeping the old school building, part of the heritage of the area, and we’re also building some modern inspiration.

This is more than a set of rooms, it’s a place to be excited about the potential in East Oxford.

We’re setting the scene, but it’s the people and the groups that use the centre that will make it into something that really changes lives.