Mumbles Community Centre Plans Given Go-Ahead

PLANS to redevelop and extend a community centre in Mumbles have been given the go-ahead but funding will be needed before any work could start.

Mumbles Community Council acquired a long lease for the Ostreme Centre around four years ago and explored various options before submitting a planning application to part-demolish and part-extend and upgrade the existing building.

There would be a timber-framed, gable-roofed entrance facing Newton Road and a ground-floor reception, three community rooms, a main hall towards the rear with a demountable stage, a kitchen and serving area, toilets and bike storage space. The smaller first floor would consist of two community rooms, office space for the community council and a toilet.

The public was asked for their views, and help has come from Gower-based social enterprise Down to Earth Project.

Community council chairman Martin O’Neill said he was glad Swansea Council has given planning permission but said the project was aspirational for the time being. “We’ve got to get funding for it, and so far we haven’t,” he said.

“We’ve got hopes and aspirations for the Ostreme Centre. The plans look great. We would like to make it a real centre for the community – it is now, to some extent, but it hasn’t had work done for a number of years.”

The community council has been a key player in the new Underhill Park sports facilities and also the skate park along the promenade at West Cross. “Both were major projects,” said Dr O’Neill.

The Ostreme Centre building began life in the 1920s as a school building, according to a council planning officers’ report, before being converted to a community centre in the 1970s. The report said the existing facilities were in high demand, and added that the new kitchen facilities were designed not to infringe on existing cafes but to serve events in the main hall and community rooms. The proposed new building would have two dedicated parking spaces, new terraced plants and roof solar panels.

Planning officers have approved a detailed application, subject to conditions, and also approved a conservation area consent application.

The community council said it was refining the project scope to make it feasible and financially sustainable and that it didn’t have a final cost figure at the moment. It said it would keep residents informed as the project progressed.