Chairperson's Foreword
Doreen Pollitt
County Councillor
Chairperson, Scaitcliffe Community Centre Ltd

In 2004 the Lancashire County Council made a significant contribution to the community living in Central and Spring Hill which are the most deprived wards of Accrington in Hyndburn, by donating the former Spring Hill School reception building at a nominal sum, so that the local residents can benefit by ownership, leadership and managing a recently set up company in the name of Scaitcliffe Community Centre Limited.

I am delighted to have served as the chairperson for the past three years of Scaitcliffe Community Centre Limited. We have team of dedicated, committed and skilled people who are contributing voluntarily on the management committee.

It is great to see local people managing, capacitated and empowered to take control. There was a great need for a more localised facility were public services can be delivered for the benefit of local residents.

The existing and new resources have come to Hyndburn because of the prevailing circumstances in our neighbourhoods and in the communities, particularly those faced by the ethnic minority community.

We are working closely with all the relevant partners and will make sure we continue to work even more closely with them in the coming year. This achievement has only been possible with the help and support of our partners, volunteers and the community for which I am very grateful.

I would like to pay tribute to the hard work and commitment of the committee and staff and congratulate everyone who has contributed to the development of the Scaitcliffe Community Centre.

I believe we will go from strength to strength in the coming years and will extend our activities to the full age range of the community by developing a network of support from statutory and voluntary agencies.