‘Vital’ community centre unveils brand new kitchen

THE grand opening of a new kitchen at Woodcote Community Centre has taken place.

Tea, coffee, homemade cakes and Prosecco were served at the unveiling on Sunday.

More than 20 people attended throughout the afternoon to receive a personal tour of the facility, which was first built in 1889.

The renovation was funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, Woodcote Parish Council, Woodcote Volunteers and the Woodcote Rally.

The disabled access toilet on the ground floor was also redecorated, so its plumbing is now hidden.

The building, which is owned by Oxfordshire County Council, the education authority, was originally the headmaster’s house for Langtree Secondary School.

It sat derelict and boarded up for 15 years before the Woodcote Area Schoolhouse Project raised £30,000 to restore it, enlisting the help of free local workmen, including scaffolders, to help bring the building back to life.

The centre officially opened in April 1993 and a year later it was awarded the Prince of Wales Community Enterprise Award, under the community buildings category.

Karen Woolley, who chairs the centre, said the project was a pivotal moment, leading to her successful 30-year career in the charity sector, including establishing and chairing the Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment.

She said: “The whole building was trashed and completely different the day I walked in, but we restored it. It was a great community project, and everybody was involved. Even the old ladies knitted little Woody wasps to sell them for £1 to raise money.”

She said the space complements the village hall and is important for socialising, especially in winter, offering warmth for residents who might not be able to afford heating their homes all day.

Ms Woolley said: “Facilities like this are critical for our communities because it’s a place where people can gather but places like this are finding it increasingly difficult to attract volunteers to run them.”

Over the years, it has hosted dozens of groups for meetings and daytime sessions, including the knitting group French Knots.

Saturday fundraising coffee mornings have raised more than £100,000 for charities over the years.

A coffee morning, held in May by Sandy Bartholomew of Reading Road, raised a record of more than £1,000 to mark Victory in Europe Day.

Ms Bartholomew, 73, said: “The kitchen is wonderful and completely different to how it was before — it’s very usable.

“It’s wonderful to have used the facility, and I hope people will be attracted to continue to keep using it and promoting and fundraising for charities along the way.”

There is a spacious downstairs area, which can seat around 35 people for parties or meetings. Upstairs, a meeting room, called “The Rally Room”, has 14 seats around a central table with a retractable projector screen.

Currently, an upstairs room is being converted into a working hub for remote or hybrid workers, funded by the parish council.

There will be two fully equipped workstations available for hourly or weekly hire by January 2026.