Community Centre gets a fresh look
A Stevenage community centre has been given a fresh new look thanks to work carried out by council contractors SJM, as part of its social value commitments.
Symonds Green Community Centre has benefitted from a range of improvements, helping to create a welcoming and refreshed space for local residents and community groups to enjoy.
The works included redecorating the main hall walls, skirting, door architraves, internal wooden doors and ceilings, as well as painting the roller shutter to the kitchen hatch. New boxing was installed around the low-level heating pipework to radiators and decorated, while a new worktop surface was fitted to the kitchen pass-through hatch.
The team also cleaned the high-level internal and external windows, sills and glazed doors, while new curtains, blinds, hanging poles and associated fixings were installed.
Chas Berger and Etec also joined SJM in carrying out the improvement works, helping to make the project possible.
Councillor Coleen De Freitas, Co-Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Economy, Skills and Young People, said:
“Social value commitments really do count when it comes to improving our community spaces for residents. SJM, Chas Berger and Etec have completed a great job at Symonds Green Community Centre, and it’s really nice to see buildings like these spruced up and ready for action in our community.
“Social value is about making sure that the work we commission delivers benefits beyond the main contract. Our contractors undertake a range of projects across Stevenage, from clearing and improving spaces to painting benches and carrying out other improvements that make a real difference to the places people live, work and spend time.
“These projects might seem small individually, but together they help improve our local environment and create spaces that lots of people can love and enjoy.
”Social value commitments are an important part of the council’s approach to working with contractors. They encourage contractors to give something back to the local community alongside delivering the work they have been appointed to do.
Through Stevenage Works, contractors working for Stevenage Borough Council are encouraged to deliver social value projects within the community, helping to ensure that investment in council services brings wider benefits for local residents and neighbourhoods.
The improvements at Symonds Green Community Centre are another example of how social value commitments can help transform community spaces and make them welcoming places for residents to use and enjoy.