View Everton’s latest initiative to regenerate around Goodison Park
Community Hub will be part of Blues legacy to the area
The ever-impressive work carried out by the Everton in the Community (EitC) team continues to grow with the opening of one of their biggest projects so far.
A first peak inside Everton’s new Community Hub shows just how quickly the centre has grown – with building planned to be completed in spring next year.
Based in the shadows of Goodison Park, the modern architecture cuts a contemporary figure on Spellow Lane.
Everton for the Community Hub opening on Spellow Lane near Goodison Park
The Hub has been open to staff and participants since last week but is now open for the public to use. The initiative by the Everton Football Club charity is designed to tackle isolation in the community and is just one of the plans the club has to regenerate the areas surrounding the stadium.
Elderly, disabled and disadvantaged people will reap the benefits of a café, family area, computer rooms, free space to organise activities, as well as a ‘Cruyff Court’ – a football pitch due to open in April 2017.
EitC worked in tandem with the Johan Cruyff Foundation to get this football pitch up and running. Two of the key factors in qualifying for the pitch are that it has to be free to use and in a deprived area.
The large open plan building will accommodate a delivery centre for the vulnerable and disabled members of the community.
And on matchdays the venue will be used as a lounge for disabled supporters, notably those who may want to avoid the pre-match hustle and bustle of Goodison Park.
The immediate reception area functions as the café, in which elderly residents from neighbouring streets were invited for a look at the new facility. Some ladies chatted away as they made their way from their morning coffee club in the church opposite and were audibly impressed by the plush café area.
Through the corridor there are multi-purpose rooms where students from the Everton Free School are encouraged to go as a place to relax or complete their homework.
Everton legend Graeme Sharp stops to chat to people using the Hub.
Upstairs, Everton’s apprentices were able to sit in their lessons where they were learning about key IT skills as part of their curriculum.
It was clear to see the work the community team at Everton are putting in around the clock. The EitC staff are also now permanently housed there to work and have a stable base to conduct their award-winning projects.
Blues legend and club ambassador Graeme Sharp was at the launch and was suitably humbled by the work going on behind the scenes. “To come in and listen and talk to people participating in the programmes is incredible,” he said.
“For myself, Ian (Snodin) and Graham (Stuart) to be involved in this – it opens your eyes. It’s only when you come in and talk to the people you realise how great it is and how much of a service they’re providing.
“Even here today, asking some of the people what they’re doing, how they chose their apprenticeships – it’s a case of learning for me as well.”
Sharp said the club is so central to peoples’ lives in the area that it takes its position in the community very seriously.
“It’s incredible what we do now. Coming from Glasgow as well and knowing what football is like in the big cities and how much the people follow the two big clubs – sometimes you can be a bit blasé.
“You can think ‘yeah okay we can get the supporters through the gate that’s what it’s all about’ – but certainly not here.
Everton for the Community Hub opening on Spellow Lane near Goodison Park
“It’s a deprived area, Walton, but I think a facility like this is important. We all work together to make this a better place.
“We are part of the bigger picture. They’ve served us so well coming to support, it’s important we give something back for them.
“Football, at times, gets a bad name – but certainly not here. Our players are grounded in the fact that they participate in all the community schemes as well so they’re very much backing it.
Most notably of late, David Unsworth’s U23 side slept out at Goodison Park to raise money for the homeless.
The work done by EitC has been recognised on a national scale. In the last five years, EitC has picked up over 90 international, national and regional awards in recognition for their work.
Phil Duffy, Executive Director of EitC, said: “We’re delighted to open the doors and start using our new Community Hub, helping us to further strengthen our work within the local area.
Everton legend Graeme Sharp stops to chat to people using the Hub.
“This facility allows us to offer members of our community a safe-haven where they can socialise safely; access employment, training, education and volunteering opportunities; as well as receiving support around physical health, dietary and provide access for isolated members of our community to engage with us via our programmes.
“We want everyone in the area to know that we are always here for them, should they ever want to visit the Hub or require support.”
Everton Free School
