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Community centres

Community centres provide a meeting place and  base for activities for local people.

Often at the heart of local areas, community centres provide a place to meet, hold social, cultural and educational activities for all ages and a place for people to get involved in the city’s life.

We support local services through a network of community centres across Portsmouth, by managing centres in partnership with community associations or by directly providing and managing services and centres.

The aim is to improve people’s quality of life  by contributing to the social, physical, economic, educational and environmental well being of the community.

The benefits of community centres include:

• providing the opportunity for people to be involved in a wide range of learning, social and physical activities
• promoting individual and community involvement and well being
• promoting social inclusion for people with difficulties which prevent them becoming involved
• providing opportunities for the community to meet and mix
• supporting the local management of services

Community centre associations are made up of local volunteers who help to run the centre and everything that is organised there. They try to identify the needs of their local communities and  respond to those needs directly or in partnership with other organisations and agencies.

The associations promote programmes designed to cater for all interests, but focus particularly on priority groups such as children, young families and older people who may have problems with transport.

Activities are delivered in a friendly and supportive environment with the aim of being affordable to people on low incomes. Many centres also host or sponsor activities targeted at groups who may be excluded, such as people with disabilities, asylum seekers, members of minority communities and gay and lesbian groups.

Facilities vary, and depend mainly on the size of the community centre. For full details of each centre, see the links below.

Anchorage Lodge
Baffins Community Centre
Binsteed Community Centre
Brunel Centre
Buckland Community Centre
Cosham Community Centre
Drayton Institute
Eastney Community Centre
Fratton Community Centre
Havelock Community Centre
Highbury Community Centre
John Pounds Centre
Milton Village Hall
Paulsgrove Community Centre
Southsea Community Centre
The Stacey Centre
Stamshaw and Tipner Leisure Centre
The Wesley Centre

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