Residents from across the city gathered at a community hub in Broughton for a family fun day to mark its official reopening after it was forced to close following a fire.
A family fun day was held at Marlborough Road Community Hub to mark its launch on Tuesday 26 May.
The community hub first opened in 2024 but was closed within a few days after a fire broke out on the premises.
Nine months after opening its doors for the first time again in September 2025, the hub hosted an official launch event to showcase the range of activities and services available to local people.
Visitors were able to take part in karate sessions, archery, face painting and a tombola, while a bouncy castle proved popular with younger attendees. Barnardo’s, which runs sessions at the hub, organised activities for children to give families an insight into its regular programmes.
An ice cream van provided free treats for children thanks to sponsorship from Starbucks, while local traders sold a variety of products from stalls throughout the day.
“It’s been wonderful to welcome our local community today and to celebrate everything our hub has to offer,” said Judith Richens, Youth and Communities Development Lead at Marlborough Road Community Hub.
“This hub has grown organically over a number of years and represents a community of people working together to support one another, in the ways they choose to.
“Everything that the hub now offers has been developed from an idea or an initiative from within our community – not from outside it – which is part of what makes it special.
“There is so much going on here on a daily basis and we’re always looking at how we can expand what we are doing. Thank you to our fantastic volunteers who share their time, skills and energy to support the hub and make it such a welcoming and inclusive place.”
One of the most popular stalls at the event was run by 12-year-old Deborah, who sold crochet hair scrunchies and bookmarks she had made herself.
After successfully securing seed funding from United Communities, Deborah established a crochet club at the hub, which now meets on Monday evenings. She also helped promote the family fun day by hand-writing invitations for residents.
Judith added: “It’s been such a pleasure to support Deborah as she set up the crochet club. This was entirely her own idea as she wanted to share her love of crochet and bring people together.
“I am so pleased we have been able to make this happen and I hope many other young people come forward with their own ideas of what they would like to do. Whatever they want to do, we will always try our best to help them make it a reality.”
The official opening comes after the hub secured funding from the National Lottery, which will support its work over the next three years.
The grant will allow the centre to extend its opening hours, making it available to residents during evenings and weekends.
More information about Marlborough Road Community Hub can be found via the community centre’s website.
