Broadwater Farm centre is 'important community asset' (From Haringey Independent)

Broadwater Farm centre is 'important community asset'

10:28am Tuesday 28th July 2009 in Advanced search By Elizabeth Pears

THE doors of a much-loved community centre on the Broadwater Farm estate will remain open, Haringey Council bosses have decided.

The Broadwater Farm Community Centre, in Adams Road, had been at risk of closure with some of its services moved to a proposed "inclusive learning campus" round the corner.

But at a cabinet meeting last Tuesday, councillors said they there was overwhelming support from residents living on the Broadwater Farm Estate to have the centre stay open with more services such as sports facilities, a coffee shop and meeting hall.

Councillor Kaushika Amin, cabinet member for community cohesion and involvement, said: "There has been extensive consultation and engagement with the local community and we have listened to what residents had to say.

"There was a strong feeling that the centre was, and is, an important community asset, and that services should be developed."

Plans for the learning campus will still go ahead, the cabinet decided, but the centre and Lordship Recreation Ground will all play a part in the regeneration of the area.

Set to open in 2012, the campus will bring Broadwater Farm Primary School, two of the borough’s special schools — Moselle and William C Harvey — and a children’s centre on one site.

The campus, funded by the Government, would include the latest technology and facilities to offer a rich learning experience for the young people.