Shock for local groups as St Paul’s Centre in Enfield Town set to close to public, reports James Cracknell

St Paul's Centre in Church Street, Enfield Town — *St Paul’s Centre in Church Street, Enfield Town*

A community centre open for more than 40 years is set to close to the public at the end of October.

St Paul’s Centre in Church Street, Enfield, is used by various community groups in the borough for classes, events, workshops and meetings. Among its regular users are Age UK Enfield, University of the Third Age and care provider Home Instead Enfield, as well as numerous yoga, dance and zumba groups. It is also been used as a blood donation centre.

The building is owned by The United Reformed Church (URC) and managed by Enfield Town and Forty Hill Churches Joint Trust. The trust took the decision earlier this summer to close the centre to the public because it was “no longer able to run and maintain the building”.

Notice has been given to the community groups that regularly use the centre and responsibility for the building has now returned to the URC Thames North Synod, which will be “deciding on its future in the next few months”.

The URC has agreed to keep the centre open until the end of October to give the groups which use St Paul’s more time to find alternative premises.

Reverend George Watt, moderator of the URC Thames North Synod, said: “Deciding to close the centre was a very difficult decision for the Enfield Town and Forty Hill Churches Joint Trust to make, and it was not made lightly.

“It’s sad that many organisations and churches across the UK are facing similar challenges with their buildings, not only because of Covid but because of the increasing costs of running the centres.

“We know how important community groups are to the people that use them, and we hope and pray that by extending the notice period, alternative premises can be quickly found so that this vital work can continue.”

Describing the closure of St Paul’s Centre as a “big blow” to Enfield in the latest edition of Enfield Society News, Andrew Lack added that The Enfield Society was “now in discussion with others to explore possibilities of maintaining its current use”.

Planning permission was granted earlier this year for an office building adjacent to St Paul’s Centre, formerly used by Metaswitch, to be redeveloped for housing. The URC has not commented on whether the St Paul’s Centre site might also be sold for redevelopment.

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