Over seventy people went along to the Open Day at the new Hive Community Centre in Peasedown St John last week.

The centre, run by a steering group of volunteers from the local community and churches, is calling for volunteers to come forward to help with a range of tasks and roles.

Steering Group Chair, Joy Fraser, said: “We had about seventy people through the door, and most were amazed at the spaces available!

“We did a presentation about our plans including the requirement for the Youth Work, the refurbishments and some of the activities and then we invited people to put their own ideas onto post-it notes.

“We asked people to sign up to volunteer in different areas – youth work, catering, decorating, gardening, administration, finance or fundraising, and we’re also looking for a volunteer treasurer. About twenty people signed up.”

The Hive, a youth and community centre purpose-built in the early 1980s, boasts a wide array of rooms and recreational spaces, including a café, sports hall, art room, meeting rooms, multi-use room and an outdoor sports court.

Last month, Bath and North East Somerset Council announced that they were giving a 30-year lease to the new group to run the building, which will include two sessions of open-access youth work each week for teenagers.

Joy Fraser added: “Our vision is to be the centre for excellence for community activities and events in Peasedown St John and surrounding areas and to be the first choice for those planning activities, events, training and meetings.

“We want to provide a safe environment in which members of the community of Peasedown St John, of all ages, can be encouraged to realise their maximum potential.”

If anyone would like to volunteer, or hire space to run a group, please get in touch for more information. The primary purposes of The Hive project have been two-fold:

• To secure the long-term future of the Youth Hub building and develop it as a community centre for the residents of Peasedown St John;

• To provide a community facility for residents to use for sports, education, leisure, youth work, wellbeing and for service providers to meet with local residents.

The Hive Community Centre is located next to Peasedown St John Primary School on Bath Road (BA2 8DH).

For more details about The Hive, in particular if you’d like to hire the building for events, clubs and meetings, contact Joy Fraser: [email protected]: 07947 008042.

You can also follow The Hive on social media at: www.facebook.com/HiveCommunityCentrePSJ