THE newly renovated Riverside Community Centre has finally opened its doors to the public in Malmesbury.

The ribbon was cut last Friday by Wiltshire Council leader Baroness Scott of Bybrook OBE, who was joined by members of the Friends of Riverside, the community group that is now running the centre.

The building cost around £250,000 to refurbish as part of Wiltshire Council’s £80m health and wellbeing centre and hubs programme.

A number of groups are already using the centre and making use of the facilities, including the Abbey Flyers running club and the Girl Guides among others.

The building hosts a range of spaces, including four meeting rooms, a dedicated arts and crafts space and a multi-use hall with cafe area, with free Wi-Fi throughout.

Speaking at the opening, Baroness Scott said: “This is a community centre for the whole of the Malmesbury community area and is part of our overall investment to deliver health and wellbeing centres and community hubs across the county.

“The organising committee has done a great job and I’d like to say a really big thank you to the Friends for their time and commitment to preparing and running the centre.

“The Friends are local volunteers who have given countless hours to making this building come to life and will, I’m certain, continue to work really hard behind the scenes to build on their success so far.”

Chairman of the Friends of Riverside, Kim Power, said the group were “delighted” to be given the opportunity to run centre.

“It’s a fantastic building and we are looking forward to not just helping to facilitate groups using it, but also running our own projects to help both young and older people,” she said.

To find out more about the Riverside Community Centre, visit riversidecommunitycentre.org.uk