Community hub shortlisted for prestigious award

Three months after its relaunch, the community hub housing the new Normanton Library has been shortlisted for a prestigious award.

The refurbishment of St Augustine’s Community Centre in Almond Street has revived the building by bringing local services together, improving community space and incorporating the neighbourhood library.

Now it is one of more than 380 buildings in the country to be nominated for a Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors award for Social Impact, which recognises how projects are providing opportunities for people as well as enhancing the environment in their local area.

The judges will visit the centre on Thursday 4 March, with the East Midlands awards ceremony taking place on 6 May. The winners from each region will go through to the national grand final in September.

As residents rediscover the centre, the new Normanton Library is growing in popularity, with its wide range of available books, including a good stock in languages such as Urdu, Punjabi, Polish, Russian as well as French and German.

The library’s Job Club, helping people with job application and CV skills, is proving popular, as is the Reading Project, which helps adults improve their reading and writing skills.

For its youngest members, the library offers weekly Rhymetime session for parents with babies and toddlers, Code Club for 8 to 13 year olds, and a weekly homework club. Bookings are now being taken for a Lego Robotics Workshop for 8 to 14 year olds, on Saturday 14 March.

Space in the library is flexible to accommodate the needs of events and groups, with meeting rooms available and two bookable rooms upstairs – one a large space for events or meetings, and a smaller room with a kitchen.

 

Councillor Robin Wood, Derby City Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Tourism, said: “For St Augustine’s Community Centre, and the new Normanton Library to be shortlisted for these national awards is an accolade in itself. The building has been transformed into a true community asset which combines up-to-date, accessible library services with facilities which will benefit everyone.”

The Lego Robotics Workshop costs £15 and runs from 2pm to 4.30pm on Saturday 14 March. To book, call 01332 25500, book online at derbylive.co.uk, or call into the Derby LIVE Sales and Information Centre, Riverside Chambers, Full Street, Derby DE1 3AF.

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