Brookside Hall Community Centre in Lumbertubs is a real Northampton success story. Many of us remember when there was a disused public house there, and the site had a reputation for anti-social behaviour. Six years ago, a local businessman and councillor, Ifty Choudary, spearheaded a local community initiative to turn the site into something positive, and created the Brookside Hall Community Centre. I was pleased to attend the opening of the Centre!
For six years now, the Community Centre has held education sessions and activities for children and adults in the local community – on all sorts of things: like DJ training, sewing classes, and dance – which many Northampton North residents have enjoyed over the years.
I was very pleased to be able to visit Brookside Hall Community Centre on the occasion of their sixth anniversary recently – which coincided with celebrations held at the Community Centre for the Muslim festival of Eid. I was pleased to see so many people attending Brookside Hall for these two celebrations.
I really think it is excellent that Communities in Northampton work together to create useful spaces like this and improve the local area, and I will continue to support similar initiatives in other parts of the town whenever I can.