ACCESSIBILITY improvements will be made at a popular community facility in Cam thanks to a £6,000 grant from the Gazette.

GL11 Community Hub, which was formed in 2001 following the closure of the family centre on the same site, provides a range of social events and training sessions for people living in the area.

It applied for funding through the Gannett Foundation UK, set up by the Gazette’s publishers Newsquest, which awards grants annually.

The money will go towards a major £50,000 renovation of the centre to make it more accessible.

Three quarters of the funds will be provided through a grant from The Gloucestershire Environmental Trust, with remainders being sourced through other grants.

“The money from Gannett will provide half of the remainder of what we need for the whole project,” Indigo Redfern, the hub’s manager, told the Gazette.

“We’re really grateful for the money which will help us with our goal of making GL11 more inclusive.

“We’ve already started some parts of the project including building ramps and we’ve also prepared the ground for a lift to be installed.”

Since joining the organisation three years ago, Indigo has worked on several schemes to improve the facility.

“When I started three years ago it was so cold here – so cold that we often couldn’t run anything through the winter,” she added.

“We fundraised to have insulation put in and asbestos removed but we’ve also made other changes to make the building look better.

“For us, it’s all about making the building inclusive so as well as making it more accessible we’ve made other changes to make everything more welcoming but the most important thing is that everyone is able to access the entire building.”

As well as the other planned improvements, work will also be carried out to install additional parking spaces outside the building.

For more information about GL11 Community Hub and the sessions and events it hosts, visit gl11.org.uk