Highgate Newtown Community Centre officially opens with state-of-the-art facilities and vital services for children and families
Camden is celebrating the official opening of the Highgate Newtown Community Centre which is now home to a range of youth and children’s services, a multi-use sports hall, cookery school and activities for the whole community.
The new community centre hosts children and youth council services on the top two floors alongside a multi-use sports hall, hairdressers, laundrette and cookery school. Council services include speech and language programmes, specialist mental health support and courses for parents and carers.
The community centre, managed by Highgate Newtown Community Partners (HNCP), is a space that brings the whole community together to connect, learn and have fun. Activities running from the community centre will include community meals, play activities, pottery and other creative sessions, work with older people and physical activities for people of all ages.
As part of the wider development of the area, thirty-six new family-sized council affordable homes were built under Camden’s Community Investment Programme – the council’s ambitious housebuilding programme set to deliver 4,850 new homes across the borough.
This new development has provided homes for Afghan nationals who have sought refuge in the UK – a key commitment in Camden’s work as a borough of sanctuary. These homes were originally intended for private sale but were converted to provide safe-haven housing for Afghan families who had been living in bridging hotels and in need of permanent accommodation.
The opening of the Highgate Newtown Community Centre is brilliant news for the local community and we’re proud to be working with Highgate Newtown Community Partners to deliver these vital services for residents. From specialist mental health support for families, parenting support programmes and youth services, we hope the opening of this community centre will be vital support in the community as well as a chance to bring our communities closer together.
I'm so pleased that this new community centre is open. Highgate Newtown Community Partners have been patient in their wait for a new home, and now we can officially say they've found it. This state-of-the-art space will bring our communities together and bring massive benefits to residents and neighbours in Highgate now and for years to come.
It’s fantastic that the new community centre has opened, offering vital children and youth services and activities which will benefit the whole community. Thirty-six new family sized council homes were also built as part of the wider development of the area and thanks to government funding we could bring these homes, which would have been sold on the private market, into the council stock. This is providing safe-haven homes for families who desperately needed it and also additional council homes for generations in the future.
We are delighted to be opening the Highgate Newtown Community Centre which is a pivotal moment for our work in the community. Building relationships and connections within the community is at the heart of what we do – we work to create partnerships with and between local community groups, faith groups, schools, and libraries, so we can reach out to everyone who lives, works, studies or plays in our community. The new community hub will support us in this work and help people across the borough feel less isolated and better able to live full and happy lives.
Local cabinet members, residents and MPs attended the opening last week [Friday 16 May] as well as a group of local schoolchildren from Channing School choir and La Sainte Union choir who performed a series of popular hits.
Attendees could also get involved in pottery classes, pizza making and find out more about services offered through Camden's Children's Centres and Family Hubs and activities and sessions run by HNCP.
Camden Integrated Youth Support service will operate from the centre, offering a range of services for young people, including, activities, trips, residential, health and fitness, homework support, arts and music production and accredited learning opportunities. Youth provision will also be open after school and during school holidays. One to one support will be offered to young people, including information, advice and guidance and support to remain in education, employment and training.
Camden’s Children’s Centres and Family Hubs offer free support for families from pregnancy through to age 19, or up to 25 for disabled children or those with special educational needs. Services include help with parenting, mental health, money advice, and activities for young people. Find out more at Children's Centres and Family Hubs.
Find out more about the Highgate Newtown Community Centre at Highgate Newtown Community Partners.