Residents celebrate reopening of community centre after multi-million pound investment

A community welcomed back their cleaner, brighter, refurbished Old Laundry community centre with a vibrant celebration on Saturday.

A housing association’s multi-million pound investment to the Old Laundry in Eastcote Street, Stockwell, included asbestos removal, refurbishing the main community space and offices and landscaping the outside.

From ice cream to face painting, and go-karting on the renovated basketball court, there was something for everybody to enjoy at the celebration.

Councillors Mahamed Hashi and Tina Valcarcel marked the re-opening with the cutting of a special ‘Welcome back to the Old Laundry’ cake.

Cllr Hashi said: “The refurbished Old Laundry is fantastic – from what the centre was and what it has become. 

“What a contrast. It really has made the community proud. I can’t wait to see everybody use it and what a contribution it will make.”

Older residents enjoyed bingo and chair Zumba in the newly refurbished main hall.

Steel pans and African drums were played by the Nostalgia Steelband and Carnival Club, and there was singing from the nearby performance arts school, the Boury Academy. 

Chief executive of Hyde, the housing association responsible for the refurbishment, Andy Hulme, said: “This has been a real team effort with Hyde and the community working together to bring this wonderful building back to life – children even picked the colour of the ‘Ferrari red’ front door. 

“I know that the centre is going to help us work even better locally- helping raise our standards even further. I’m looking forward to everybody enjoying it for the next 100 years.”

Pictured top: The community came out to celebrate on Saturday (Picture: Hyde)