Sidings Community Centre, which opened in May 1983, celebrates over 40 years of providing services primarily for the local community in the wider area around West Hampstead and North Kilburn. We are one of Camden’s funded community centres as a recognised Strategic Partner and offer a range of services which include: Early Years Centre Services, Play and Youth projects, Computer and Digital Skills Learning Centre, Adult Community Education Classes, a Foodbank, Sports, Health & Fitness activities. Our premises offer a range of facilities for local group meetings, large and small consultation events, and training rooms, both public and private hire – according to availability.
The centre works in partnership with local voluntary and Camden-wide organisations to develop more opportunities for the wider community and improve the inclusion of communities which are currently under-represented in decision-making and local service use. We encourage local people to “have a say” in the design and development of their local community and use a variety of platforms to keep local residents up to date with news about the wider neighbourhood. Our services aim to give local people of all ages opportunities to socialise, acquire skills to maximise their chances in life, increase self-resilience, turn aspirations into reality, nurture and develop creativity, participate in health and well-being activities, gain essential tools to engage in the digital world, have opportunities for volunteering and contributing to community life, enjoy coming together and making new friends, support those in need, and promote a strong sense of positive neighbourhood.
Our Centre Charter emphasises the ethos of the centre is to welcome people and foster a climate of respect. We are pleased to often act as a broker for the community to engage local people in consultation exercises, get their voices heard, and take part in Camden- wide initiatives.
The centre premises are purpose-built and offer flexible, multi-use space which is used within a busy programme 7 days a week throughout the year. We are uniquely situated on the edge of Maygrove Peace Park and are able to use the sports and open space facilities for health, fitness, sports, youth and play activities.
Like all VCS organisations, the centre is facing a future that must be less dependent on council-led funding and is also busy looking at how to reshape services and create new funding and resource structures to take us forward to maintain sustainability. This will place a renewed emphasis on the use of volunteers, and introduce new opportunities for engaging with the business, health, and other sectors to develop new partnerships.
In 2020 the COVID-19 crisis has also brought about a renewed sense of value and appreciation of good neighbourliness, emphasising the growing need in society to support those in need within our communities, and the centre will be looking at ways to increase our response to this.
The centre is a Registered Charity and Company Limited by Guarantee, managed voluntarily by a group of Trustees/ Directors. The activities are delivered or coordinated by an extremely dedicated staff and volunteers. We welcome input from the community for new ideas and offers of help.
