In partnership with Mulalley, through their social value contribution, we refurbished the community centre at our scheme in Brent.
We’re delighted to have transformed this community space and given back to the residents of Brent. The refurbishment of Vale Community Centre included cleaning and painting the hall and toilets, as well as installing a brand-new kitchen. All paint and materials were generously donated through Mulalley’s supply chain, and a skip was provided as part of their social value contribution to help clear the site.
A whole host of staff volunteers supported the project, and the community centre is looking fantastic. In total, 100 hours of volunteering hours were delivered by NHG and Mulalley staff throughout the week.
The social value team played a key role in the Vale refurbishment by working closely with Mulalley to ensure the project delivered meaningful benefits beyond the physical upgrades. Without social value, we would not have been able to improve the space to this extent. The entire refurbishment came at no cost to NHG and has strengthened partnerships between NHG, Mullalley and their subcontractors as well as the local community.
Through collaboration, we created a more welcoming environment that residents are now keen to use more regularly for hire, community sessions and support services. One resident has said “The centre needed a refurb and now looks so inviting to the community. We hope the hall can be open to us to hire soon.”
The Space baby bank who run weekly sessions at the community centre to provide essential baby items to families in need said that it feels so much cleaner and more inviting: “The refurb looks nice; our clients will be very pleased. It feels like such a bright, vibrant hall.”
We also had great feedback from the NHS health and equalities team in Brent commented on how bright the space is now that that the kitchens and toilets are far better.
With the next phase focused on enhancing the office space with help from our business services team, the centre will soon be able to host housing drop-in sessions for officers - something the community in Brent and Carlton Vale have specifically requested.
This all goes to show what a difference social value can make in creating better places for the community to come together. We hope to have an opening event soon to celebrate the refurbished space with staff and residents.
