Springfield Park

General information

In the aftermath of the horrors of the First World War ex-Servicemen and their families in Forest Hall and Westmoor came together to build a memorial to their fallen friends and family members. The Institute was used for leisure and recreation by the local community for many years . It was located on the edge of Springfield Park. In the late 1950’s the property was handed over to the local council because the organisation had become weaker and could no longer afford to maintain the building.

After being in use for many more years it was burned down in the early 1980’s in an arson attack. The loss of this amenity galvanised local residents into action and they got together to campaign for a replacement.

In the summer of 1982 the Springfield Community Association was established. The Association was quite energetic in those days and as well as lobbying the Council to provide a community facility they also put great efforts into fundraising.
By 1986 the Springfield Community Centre was opened, built by money provided by the Council as well as the money they had raised themselves. Over the years it has been home to many different community and voluntary groups.

The Community Association does not employ any staff. It is managed by a committee of volunteers. We have been very fortunate in having people who have been prepared to do maintenance work on the building which has helped to keep our running costs low.

We have 14 different regular user groups and so the Centre is in use for most of the time. It is also available for hire for parties and other functions. As well as the main hall we have a small meeting room for hire.