You’ll be pleased to know that the builders are nearly finished with the new kitchen, just in time for the Centres activities to resume.
We are busy planning an event to celebrate the centres new kitchen space on October 25th and the Real Junk Food Project are slowly moving their equipment into the new space. If you have been following the build on our social media pages here is a hot off the press photo from this week.
We are excited to show off the finished kitchen the the next week, and look forward to the formal opening next month.
Meet staff from each of the 10 community centres in LBRuT as they introduce Your COmmunity Centre Week 2024
Your Community Centre Week returns this September! Join us from 16-20 Sept and explore all the opportunities your local community centres provide. You can also enjoy one of our vintage bus tours 🚍 Whether you are looking to get involved or find a new activity or hobby, come along and join the fun!
We have also introduced a one stop shop for all your information needs about the community centres within Richmond upon Thames. Why not head over to Your Community Centres – Where Connections Thrive to discover what goes on at your local community centre.
We look forward to meeting many of you on the vintage bus tour and at the cream tea.
We are nearly at the end of week 3 and thought that we would update you on our kitchen build.
As you can see the kitchen space looks completely different. The base frames for the cupboards and work tops are in place and the new boiler has been installed and is working. The flooring is the next step as is plastering the walls and making ready for the installation of wall cupboards.
It’s progressing well and the builders are working hard. We are looking forward to watching the kitchen take more shape in the next coming weeks. More photos can be seen on our social media accounts, why not follow up on Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) or Facebook.
We are delighted to have secured funding from Richmond Council (Community Infrastructure Fund) to update and extend the Centre’s kitchen facilities and to rationalise and update the Centre’s boiler arrangements.
The building works are planned to start on Monday 15th July and these works should take approximately 6-8 weeks so the estimated finish date is no later than Friday 6th September. This work has been planned to take place during the summer period when the Centre tends to be quieter.
The area of the build will be isolated from the gym and meeting rooms to enable activities to continue during the building works. The kitchen will however be out of use. There is bound to be some noise and disturbance but we are working to manage and minimise this and to keep as much of the Centre’s activities going as possible as follows:
The Gym
The Gym will be open as normal throughout the building works and all gym users will be welcomed in the usual way.
You should however be aware that the lockers will not be available and the toilet at the gym end of the building will not be available for some of the period of the build. The toilets at the other end of the building, near the manager’s office, will continue to be available. Gym staff will be able to answer any questions you may have.
The Real Junk Food Project (TRJFP)(Wednesday 11.30-1.30)
TRJFP will be running throughout. The lunch offer will be adjusted as there will be no access to the kitchen, but there will still be plenty of lunch options available as well as food to take home.
Yoga (Tuesdays 10-11 and Chair Yoga Thursday 2-2.45pm)
Yoga will continue throughout the building works and throughout the summer.
Pilates (Mondays 2.25 and 3.15pm)
There will be Pilates sessions offered for some weeks during the period of the building works. The Pilates Instructor will provide details directly to people who attend the Pilates classes.
Table Tennis(Tuesdays 2-4pm)
Table tennis session will continue throughout the building works and the summer.
Cambrian Community Choir (Mondays 12-2)
The choir will be running until July 15th and then will be taking a break throughout the summer period. We look forward to welcoming the choir back in September.
For other activities the activity leader will be able to provide details. .
We will keep you updated on the building works and look forward to being able to show off the new kitchen in September. Please do not hesitate to contact David Lemon, Centre Manager, with any queries about the building work or the activities on offer at the Cambrian Community Centre.
Thank you in advance for your patience and tolerance during this process
The gym and all centre activities will be closed on Monday 27th May for the Bank Holiday. Everything will be operating as per normal from Tuesday 28th.
I am very pleased to announce Karen King’s appointment as Charity Director of the Cambrian Community Centre.
Karen is currently Manager of Ham and Petersham SOS. She will be moving to her new role with the Cambrian Community Centre with effect from 3rd June 2024.
The Charity Director post is a new part-time post, equivalent to 3 days a week, and is in addition to the existing staff team at the Centre. Karen will focus on developmental and strategic work and support for the Trustee Board as well as taking overall responsibility for the Centre. David Lemon’s role as Centre Manager remains substantially the same – he is responsible for all operational matters in relation to the Centre.
This new post is an exciting step change for the Centre and will enables us to continue to grow what’s on offer.
We have been able to increase the Centre’s staffing in this way as a result of grant funding we have received, most notably a three-year core cost grant from Richmond Parish Land’s Charity, for which we are grateful.
The Cambrian Community Centre is a launching a cardiac exercise group programme from Friday 8th March. It will take place from 1.30 to 2.30 pm. The group will be led by David Ollington, a qualified cardiac exercise practitioner, and will be primarily working with people with a cardiac health condition. The group will include warm up and warm down with a cardiac health focus.
Regular exercise is known to benefit health and can improve the long-term prognosis of people who develop Cardio-Vascular disease by improving their cardiovascular fitness. Current guidelines state that to gain health benefits we all need to do physical activity on most days of the week, at a moderate intensity level for at least 30 minutes. The new group will be a friendly and supportive environment for those seeking to achieve this.
For more information or to enrol please email manager@cambriancentre.org or call 0208 332 1102 (Cambrian gym).
We are delighted to announce that we will be extending the gym opening hours from Monday 5th February. This is in line with requests from our survey of users in 2023 and in the light of increased usage of the gym.
A new afternoon/early evening session will run on Mondays from 3pm to 7pm. There will also be a session on Wednesday afternoons from 12-3pm. These opening hours will run until June 2024 at which point we will review take up of the new slots. Please do make use of the new sessions and if you like the service mention it to your friends and family!
Please note that bookings for the new slots won’t be able to made on the website until Thurdsay 1st February.
In addition to the new gym slots we will be launching a new cardiac group session. This will be established later in the year. If you are interested please mention it to the gym team and we will make a note to contact you when more information on the group session is available.
As always if there are any questions on this please feel free to email or call the centre.
We are delighted to be hosting a visit by Clare from the South West London Energy Advice Partnership (SWLEAP) on Wednesday 29th November as part of the Real Junk Food Cafe Session (so pop in get a lovely warm lunch as well!).
As temperatures drop and worries about energy bills rise SWLEAP will offer practical advice and guidance to reduce bills and increase the energy efficiency of your home. This includes fitting LEDs, radiator foils and draught proofing. Clare will also have a number of free warm home packs for people who may benefit.
The session runs from 11.30-1.30 on Wednesday 29th November.
Centre trustees and supporters have got together with local allotment-holders to build a supply chain of seasonal fruit and vegetables that will minimise food waste and foster community engagement between the two organisations.
Manor Road Allotment committee have set aside a plot at their site beside North Sheen station to grow produce for community use, particularly through the Centre. Chair Bill Collis, who helped launch the scheme, encourages individual plotholders to donate their own surplus fruit and veg.
