THE Cambrian News has been given exclusive access to Penparcau’s exciting new £650,000 community centre ahead of its opening to the public this Saturday.

After almost a year of construction works and five years since the idea was floated, Penparcau Community Forum is putting the finishing touches on the brand new community centre.

The centre, which was built thanks to a £490,000 grant from the Welsh Government and £150,000 from the People’s Health Trust, will open its doors to the public for the first time on Saturday as years of hard work from staff and volunteers comes to fruition.

Speaking to the Cambrian News, Bryn Jones, forum co-ordinator, was keen to stress that the new centre very much belonged to the community.

“We have created something that maybe people think ‘this is the forum’s place’. It is not. This is for the people of Penparcau. This is their centre. We have the money, we have delivered the building. Now it is over to you. We are trying to get over to people — use it because it is here.”

As you walk into the main atrium, where people will be able to sit with a coffee and cake from the café, the large open-plan room is filled with light shining through the large windows in the ceiling, and the patio doors which open out onto the terrace.

The rationale behind the room is one which runs through the whole project — to bring people together.

Forum director Dylan Jones explained: “This is somewhere where people can come to socialise. It is the focal point of the community.

“One of the biggest issues we want to tackle is loneliness in the home. If we can address that, even in a small way, it will no doubt help people.”

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