BROADSTONE COMMUNITY AND ARTS CENTRE

Definitely not 'state of the art' or elitist, the Broadstone Community and Arts Centre goes from strength to strength in its provision of community service for Broadstone and the surrounding area. Now in its 16th year this is a charitably run centre, lease-owned and managed on an altruistic basis by a few Trustees, whose committed mission focuses on providing a service to the whole community.

All age groups use the centre. One year olds are entertained in musical games, and those in their ninth decade of life go to paint, chat or play bingo. And to visit and see senior citizens in one room, childcare and craft in another, homework club and softball in two others and classical ballet in yet another, gives you an idea of what this centre is about. Other times in the evening you may call in and see league table tennis at a competitively tense stage in two of the halls, whilst a TUC meeting is conducted upstairs, next to the room where ladies' embroidery is in progress, just above the meeting room where the Ramblers Association is meeting or an astrology course is taking place.

Sometimes you have to be excused for thinking this is a bit like getting a pint into a half pint pot because the building is not all that large, but everything is heavily utilised to its maximum. One advantage the Centre has over other venues is that the individual rooms, of which there are 6, are of mixed sizes and include some smaller rooms. This means that the newer and smaller groups in the area can get started in the Centre and are not having to pay large-hall fees, and are not rattling around in huge halls. The flip side of this is that some groups are nurtured at the Centre then have to move out and find another venue when they grow in size. This happened earlier this year when a ladies slimming group became so successful they grew too large for the room they met in! That's all part of the service the community benefits, long term.

Of the structured activities running at the Centre, daytime Adult Education courses include Art, Yoga, Tai Chi, German and 'Extend' gentle exercise. Afternoons, the classical ballet Murilova school offers such excellent tuition that last year two of the pupils were offered places with the Royal Ballet. This achievement is quite remarkable. For one pupil to have been offered a place would have been an honour for the school but for two pupils and, in the same year is exceptional. In addition when you realise that for this selection the Royal Ballet's intake from an International catchment was only 8 and of that 8, 2 are dancers at Broadstone Community Centre, then you have to think it's rather outstanding.

In addition to classical performing art, many rock bands have started out at the Centre. One of these bands who regularly practised there can currently be heard on Radio One with the DJ describing their tracks as excellent.

With the Trustees working with, and nurturing fledgling groups, some services previously unavailable in Broadstone are now part of the community infra-structure. 9 years ago a childcare facility started at the Centre. Run by Kid's Club, it is now available after every schoolday and school holidays. With over 300 children registered at the Centre it is now considered to be a very positive socio-economic factor in Broadstone, and better still, the children love it.

In 1892 the original owner, who built the Centre as a private home for himself and his wife, could never have imagined the changes ahead!

Archive Winter 2003 | next

Say you saw it on "Broadstone NET"