Latest News

Tuesday 26th March 2024

Click here for an exciting new venture for the local Community Association

Monday 20th November 2023

Click here for pictures of the completed roof project

Friday 4th August 2023

Due to the weather forecast for tomorrow we are having to  relocating the location of  our annual cream tea.  It will now take place at the Burnham Community Centre in Berrow Road. 

Please come along from 2pm till 4pm.  As well as the cream tea, there will be cakes, stalls and games.

Roof Update 06/04/2023:
We are pleased to report that the first phase of our roof project has now been completed.

Thanks to the great weather in February our excellent roofing contractors, Span Roofing, made great progress.  After removing the slates the structure of the roof was found to be in good order. 

We must thank all those who made this project possible.  The Town Council, Sedgemoor District Council and Somerset County Council helped by providing us with grants, we also received donations from local groups and organisations.

A special thank you to The Friends of the Community Centre who held numerous fund raising events for the roof project and even sold virtual slates! Without their hard work we could not have completed this project.

What next?

The contractors also insured that the roof was insulated up to current standards and checked over the rest of the roof.  We hope that will allow the second phase, major storms permitting, to be anticipated in 5 to 6 years time.




Roof Update 05/02/2023:
After 3 years of hard work bidding for grants and a tremendous effort of fun raising, work has now started on refurbishing the first phase of the Community Centre roof project.  

The roof in this phase has already been stripped and soon new slates will be installed.  This roof will also be insulated which will help make the heating of the Community Centre more efficient which will be good news given the rise in energy costs!

Hopefully, at the same time as the refurbishment repairs to recent storm damage will be carried out which will make the roof sound for the next few years until phase 2 can be undertaken.

Coffee Morning Update:
The first Saturday of every month the Friends of the Community Centre hold a coffee morning and table top sale.  Click here to see the photos from our Coffee Morning in February.

Burnham Community Centre fundraising appeal launched for £80,000 roof repairs. By Burnham-On-Sea.com - April 4, 2022

A major new fundraising appeal has been launched to fund £80,000 of repairs that are needed at Burnham-On-Sea Community Centre.

Burnham and Highbridge Community Association, which runs the 200 year-old building in Berrow Road, started the appeal at the weekend and says it is seeking £10,000 of donations from the public.

Burnham’s Mayor Cllr Mike Facey gave his support to the centre at the launch on Saturday (April 2nd), as pictured. He said it provides “important, well-used community facilities at the heart of our town which are greatly valued by groups and residents.”

Paul Hambleton, from the community centre ’s roof sub committee, explains: “The north section of our roof closest to the Swim and Sports Academy is in need of full replacement at the front and back.”

“It ’s in a very poor state of repair – we have water leaking through the ceilings in several of the meeting rooms and the main hallways during heavy rainfall. We have to put out buckets to avoid flooding.”

“It is costing a lot to keep patching up the roof – £3,000 alone after the recent stormy weather – but that doesn ’t sort the the long-term issue.”
“The full replacement of the roof will protect the building as a whole and also help to better insulate it and therefore help us reduce energy bills moving forward.”

“If the work doesn ’t go ahead, we will be creating worse problems for the building in the longer term with damp and damage to other parts of the building.”

Paul says the total cost of the first phase of the project will be around £80,000 and adds: “We will be getting  at least three quotations for the work to ensure we get good value-for-money.”

“We already have £15,000 set aside for the project from our own funds and money raised to date. A superb £5,000 has been raised from the Friends of the Community Centre and  there have been kind donations from groups who use the centre, who are giving us wonderful support.”

“We are now seeking £10,000 from the public and then plan to apply for grant funding of over £50,000 to get the work underway.”
He says the group has already received advice from the Community Council for Somerset about potential funding sources and the best way to shape the grant bid.

The Friends of the Community Centre are leading on the fundraising activities. “They are planning to hold fundraising activities through the year and are actively seeking donations,” adds Paul.

“A new buy-a-tile scheme has been launched in our hallway at £5 a time and a donors board will be installed to thank those who support us. We have already had good support for this so far and invite residents to pop in and give their backing.”

He explained that while the community centre is owned by Sedgemoor District Council, it is run by Burnham and Highbridge Community Association, a registered charity, which has a full repairing lease on the building with 40 years remaining on the lease. “None of the volunteers are paid except for a part-time caretaker, so we are a volunteer-run centre that is here for the community.”

Paul added that dozens of active groups are based at the busy centre with over 600 sessions per year held. “These range from a war games group and the model railway club to the U3A and a wide variety of local interest groups covering faiths, disabilities, health and hobbies. We offer rooms to community groups at very cost-effective rates.”