Relief and excitement at reopening of Newport community space that had been forced to shut
Volunteers at a beloved community space have celebrated reopening after safety concerns over a neighbouring building forced them to shut for ten weeks.
The Hub in Newport was due to celebrate its third birthday just two days before it was forced to close because of fears over the safety of the next door Royal Victoria Hotel.
In early February, the road and footpath directly outside the hotel on St Mary's Street was temporarily closed in the interests of public safety, which forced the closure of the next door youth club, function space and community cafe.
What was supposed to be two weeks turned into two months. The exclusion zone was finally lifted on Friday, March 31, after Telford & Wrekin Council stepped in to make the dilapidated building safe, the owner having failed to meet a court deadline.
On Wednesday, staff and volunteers threw open the doors to the centre once again, welcoming back new and familiar faces.
Cafe manager Liz Bickford-Smith said she was thrilled to be back.
She said: "It's been so lovely, it's so nice to be back and see all of our regulars and our volunteers and hear how happy they are that we've reopened - it's nice to be appreciated!"
The Hub aims to provides an affordable and accessible community cafe and space, which hosts a range of groups, clubs and events including storytime and wellbeing sessions as well as housing Newport's youth club.
Liz said she was relieved the area was once again safe for users of the space.
She said: "It's good to know that the building next to us is safe, but it's still quite an eyesore. It'll be nice to see something done with it sooner, rather than later."
