The Centre

Main Hall: a light, attractive space with room for up to 100 people. Stackable chairs and tables available, and access to the kitchen.

Foyer: an open plan café and seating area, with pop-up library for adults and children. We aim to have this open for anyone to drop into throughout the week, and are looking for volunteer hosts to make this possible. This space is not normally available for hire, except as part of a whole Centre booking

Meeting room: for 15-20 people, suitable for meetings, training, conferences, IT workshops and community groups. Flexible layout.

Kitchen: with catering hob and cooker, dishwasher, fully equipped to serve up to 100 people. Hatches into both main hall and foyer

Parking: there is disabled and drop-off parking at the main entrance. There is on-street parking and spaces around the local shops.

The Community Centre is fully accessible, with a ramp to the front door, level access throughout, disabled toilet, and loop system

Our Story

St. Peter’s Hall served Westfield estate since the 1960s, hosting everything from carnival clubs to youth clubs, pantomimes to community bingo. Set behind St. Peter’s church on Coronation Avenue, it was the only community hall on Westfield, an estate of 5,000 people.

The Problem

In 2012 the hall was recommended for demolition, and had at least 15 serious faults, ranging from asbestos to unsafe wiring. Despite this, it was popular and well used. Local community surveys showed a need for more meeting space, and somewhere to drop in. Old Hall being demolished.

St. Peter’s church began working with Westfield Community Association and the District Council in 2014 to begin planning and dreaming of a replacement hall.

The Vision

Working with a local architect and builders, plans were drawn up for a replacement Community Centre to serve Westfield area. The brief was to have extra meeting spaces, an open plan foyer/community café area, improved heating, storage, kitchen, toilets and disabled access. We also wanted to join it to St. Peters Church, so the church could be used as an extra space when required.

The Building

Initial estimates for the cost were around £950,000. With the help of a £500,000 Lottery grant, plus grants from many other sources (see below), we were able to start work in January 2019. By September 2019 the Centre was finished, and it was officially opened on October 5th 2019.

The New Centre

The new centre is run by the Church and Community Association in partnership with Abri, and is a great venue for hire, a base for support and advice for the whole community, and a local drop in which is open throughout the week. There are 3 spaces available for hire – a large hall, a medium sized meeting room, and a small interview room. The Centre also has a catering kitchen, full disabled access and parking, and opens directly into St Peters Church for shared events.

As well as hosting the Westfield Hub in response to the cost of living crisis, the Centre hosts a wide range of groups for all ages. There is also a lending library, a range of advice services throughout the week, and a regular round of social and community events. See the What’s On page to see what’s on!

We are grateful for the support of…. National Lottery Building Communities, South Somerset District Council, Viridor Credits, Abri, Yeovil Town Council, Diocese of Bath and Wells, Clark Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, Trusthouse Charitable Foundation, Yeovil Without Parish Council, Fairfield Trust, Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation, Somerset Community Foundation, Abbey Manor Group, Battens, David Rivett Funeral Director, Wakeleys Funeral Directors, Westfield Academy, Yeovil Lions, Yeovil Squash and Bowls Club, St. James Church, Yeovil Stroke Club, the Co-op, and all the fantastic fundraisers at St. Peters Church and Westfield Community Association