Colne's St Philip's Centre receives £25,000 from Asda Foundation to transform community space

The initiative follows information from Asda’s latest community tracker, which revealed more 20% of customers were concerned about the lack of community spaces in their area, with loneliness being ranked as one of the biggest challenges faced by communities by over 38% of people.

St Philip's Centre seek to address the widespread issues in their town of poverty, poor mental health, addiction and loss of connection. Meeting people at their point of need, they have a CAP debt drop-in, support for housing and homelessness, a food bank, a clothes bank, a recovery group, and cafe and wellbeing groups such as engaging in art and music. They also aim to start healthy cooking on a budget classes and a CAP Job Club.

The funding awarded will help transform their outdoor space into a more welcoming area, with plans to install two "homeless pods” and the creation of a community pantry. The pods will offer secure, temporary accommodation for individuals who are currently homeless, providing a safe space and immediate relief from the streets.

Asda Community champion Diane Springthorpe, from the Colne store, said: "I was so excited to tell the group they had been successful with the £25,000 grant. This funding is going to help them massively and enable them to give support to different members of the community right from those finding themselves homeless to those who need support with basic food provision. I’m really looking forward to seeing all the work starting."

Karl Doyle, chair of the Asda Foundation, said: “We know that safe and inclusive spaces can be a lifeline to many in our local communities, they offer a way for people to be together and are the home for many vital services and activities. Our Community Tracker tells us that many community groups are struggling to find the funding to maintain, develop and repair these spaces and that’s where we have come in to help. Through our Investing in Spaces and Places grants, and the wider Asda Foundation programme, we want to continue playing our part in uniting communities and reducing loneliness by improving community spaces and bringing people together.”