Local groups using Knaresborough Community Centre on Stockwell Lane now have a new kitchen thanks to the latest round of grant funding.
In 2009, when Harrogate Borough Council’s Emma Lyons (Community Development Assistant) and Jane Whittaker (Play Development Officer) began managing and running Knaresborough Community Centre, one of their main goals was to improve the facilities offered at the centre.
They began by setting up the Knaresborough Community Centre Committee – whose primary role is to support the running of the centre – and then they started looking at attracting external funding. So far £17,000 has been raised through grant and other external funding streams.
The latest – £7935 from Waste Recycling Environmental Ltd (WREN) – has been put towards refurbishing the kitchen which now has new cupboards, worktops, flooring, a range cooker, a microwave and that all important equipment a dishwasher!
The total cost was £8729 and contributions also came from Harrogate Borough Council, Knaresborough Community Centre Committee and the Table Tennis Group.
Emma says the new kitchen has made a huge difference to all of the groups that use the centre. “We are now able to spend more time baking and cooking with our youth groups, comfortably cater for the lunch club with the capacity to expand to cook for more people, and the dishwasher means that our users have more time to enjoy their activity rather than washing and clearing up!
“We want to continue to improve the centre and hope to attract more and more people from Knaresborough and surrounding villages.”
