Kingsbrook Community House

The bpha Kingsbrook Community House has been open for business since 2001. It is a two-bedroomed, semi-detached property in the heart of the Kingsbrook ward, an area of approximately 1,600 properties and around 5,500 residents.

The house offers a consultation room and also a cyber suite downstairs.  Agencies use the consultation room for drop-in and appointment sessions every week, usually between one and three hours long. These include the Citizens' Advice Bureau, which runs a two-hour session every Wednesday and is currently the house's most popular service, the beat manager, the estate street ranger, an employment and training advice service and bpha's own housing and benefits advice staff. Borough councillors use the house for monthly surgeries and a local community group also holds meetings in the house.

Upstairs there is an office from which bpha's employment and community outreach officers work from, right at the centre of the community they serve.

Dumble Close, Corby

The Community House at Dumble Close is a 2-bedroomed property that bpha has loaned to local residents to use as a community venue. We have 135 properties in this area of Corby.

At present the Community House is predominantly used by a local community group as a venue for activities they run for young people living in the Close. This has proved to be an invaluable resource to them - without it they would be unable to function, they are no other venues in the nearby area they could use.

Several times a week, local residents run sessions such as:

• Activities for 9-12 year olds, 5pm to 6.30pm, twice a week
• Parent and toddlers' group, 10am to 12 noon, twice a week
• Playgroup for 5-8 year olds, twice a week

We have worked closely with residents to ensure the house is fit for this purpose, this has included improving access to the front of the building, making the rear garden a safe play area and making the property "child friendly".

The community group also uses the house as a base from which they can meet and discuss their plans for the future. The community group is supported by bpha's Community Development Department.

In the future we hope to widen the use of the Community House to other residents, hopefully being able to offer activities for older people and other groups, truly making it a venue for all.