Community Centre

The Community Centre and the surrounding recreational grounds/facilities are managed by a charity called the Long Ashton Community Association (LACA). The Parish Council provides a grant contribution to LACA towards maintaining the buildings as part of a lease arrangement LACA owns the majority of the building and the land which the Council hold as a Custodian Trustee (see Custodian Trustees - A Guide). Some of the of the land and part of the building are owned by the Parish Council and for ease of management, these are all included in a lease to LACA which expires on 31st December 2027.

The costs of running the Community Centre should be met from the income generated by its use. However, there is a clause in the lease that provides for a grant contribution from the Parish Council each year towards the costs of maintaining the land and buildings (this was £40,000 in 2022-23).

The LACA management committee should provide regular reports to the Parish Council to ensure that the Council's grant is being effectively used and to reassure the Parish Council about the Charity so that they can be confident in the level of grant awarded each year. The Council would like to see the application to a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) progress so that it can be released from its role as a Custodian Trustee.

The Community Centre has 6 indoor rooms to hire, and extensive outdoor facilities including two tennis courts available for public use, a Bowling Green, football pitch, a multi-purpose arena and play areas. For more information, visit here.

• In 1944, the 'The Village Association' was formed, who were tasked with raising funds for a War Memorial to take the form of a "first class Village Hall and enlargement of the Recreation Ground". Fund raising began for the estimated £15,000 cost.
• By 1951, the Recreation Ground has been extended by more land purchase, the Tennis Courts laid out and the Football field levelled.
• In 1957, the Association suggested building a new hall on the Recreation Ground, costed at £8,000, to be paid for by the sale of the old hall and the land on which it stood (now Lovelinch Gardens shops). A secret ballot at a public meeting in May that year voted for a new building and with this sale, along with a grant of £2,000 from the Rural District Council, the money was available to make plans.
• In June 1959, the Foundation stone was laid on the Recreation Ground at Keedwell Hill and on 14th November 1959 the hall was officially declared open. Further plans included the provision of a Youth Hut alongside the hall and a bowling green, the latter coming to fruition in 1986. A Garden of Remembrance was laid out shortly after the opening which was later demolished when Keeds Hall was built on the land.
• Have a look at this album by 'Discover North Somerset'. If you scroll down to the end of the album, you can see photos of what the village hall looked like in 1960.
• In October 1996, a public meeting voted unanimously to expand the building, due to the fact that the facilities were being fully utilised. Long Ashton Millennium Project (LAMPRO), consisting of local residents, was set up to raise funds and manage the provision of the new facilities. User groups began holding events and dances with proceeds going to the Redevelopment Fund.
• In 2002, the Club Room, used initially in the main by the Youth Club, and now incorporating the Cafe, was completed, followed by the Jubilee Pavilion in 2003.
• Between 2001-2004, the childrens' playground, the arena, and the youth shelter bandstand all received a complete overhaul.
• In 2008, the tennis pavilion was built, and in 2013, Peel Park, with pitches for the Junior Football Club, was laid out and ready for use.
• A sum of money from the development of Long Ashton Research Station land enabled the completion of the later stages and LAMPRO was wound up in 2009.

Since 1965 the area has been managed by Long Ashton Community Association (LACA), successors to the Village Association.

Many thanks to Jean Pullin (Local History Society) for this contribution