MP Greg Barker visits Sidley Community Centre

Taking Greg on a tour of the building and explaining the wide range of facilities the centre has to offer and, the history of the original house where the community centre now stands, was Sidley Community Association (SCA) Chairman John Izzard and SCA Chief Executive Margaret Lea.

Funding by SCA and Rother District Council provided the cash for the extension and there are six main areas within the centre which Margaret said, "all work together to benefit the whole of the Bexhill area."

In addition to the main community centre there is a learning centre, young peoples centre,family services, Sure-Start and office accommodation available to rent.

Margaret said the main emphasis for the centre is that they are "dedicated" to helping improve young peoples educational skills within the locality, focusing on 'skills for life'.

She added: "We are here to encourage projects that support people in Sidley from birth and we are desperate that funding continues for this kind of work."

Margaret said there has also been a high increase of children with Autism and learning difficulties in Hastings and Bexhill and the centre has a specialist team dedicated to helping those children and their families.

Greg took time to chat to the learning centre's team of ladies who were holding a 'quality monitoring' meeting on the 'Next Step' project and, he learned that it's not only youngsters who benefit from the centre as there is also a large number of residents over the age of 65 who are taking advantage of the computer room, signing up and taking IT courses.

Also housed at the centre is the 'Rainbow' children's nursery where Greg met staff, children, and inspected the latest addition to the nursery - it's very own vegetable patch and garden area.

Nursery Manager Nina Healy said: "The children's parents have been instrumental in the making of the garden area, they help with the maintenance and have donated plants and a sand pit."

Greg said although he had attended many events in the past at the centre, this visit had been an interesting experience for him to see and hear of the many activities which the centre provides.

He said: "The activities within the centre are all different and separate, yet are crucially interdependent providing a holistic lifetime service to local people. It's important and much needed work that goes on here, helping local people with their life chances to improve their quality of life. Clearly, in order for projects like this to thrive, they need long term funding."