How it all began

2010 - Funding for the youth pod fizzled out due to the Government’s austerity cuts and the community centre project was also shelved, although the community room remained. 

2012 - The Gap began a three-year contract with Warwick District Council to deliver community development outreach work on the Forbes estate and in Warwick West. 

2015 – Warwick District Council approached The Gap to take over the running of the Packmores centre to deliver support services for residents living in the Packmores and Cape area, targeting primarily older people, young people ‘not in education, employment, or training’ (NEETs), and disadvantaged families. The long-term aim was to develop the community hub into a sustainable facility, backed by the local community, supporting social and health needs, whilst also having the capacity to help those further afield. This included providing access to local services, facilitating social connections, reducing isolation, and promoting wellbeing. 

2019 - Warwick Community Network hosted a networking event called ‘Warwick Vision’ where a wide range of stakeholders including local councils, funders, and organisations from the voluntary sector, public sector, and private sector agreed a community centre for Packmores was definitely needed and a sub-group was set up specifically to further this aim. 

2020 – The Covid pandemic created further reasons why a new community centre for Packmores was needed including the increased relevance of green spaces for improved wellbeing, increased demand for local services, and adaptation of service delivery for new and emerging needs such as the cost-of-living and free school meals crisis.

2021 - During Lockdown a residents group called the Priory Area Community (PAC) was formed to work towards pushing for a new community centre, with the goal of converting the disused Priory Medical Practice. 

2022 - Simon Pargeter, Chair of PAC and Mandy Burford, Secretary of PAC were invited to a Warwickshire County Council cabinet meeting to present their request on behalf of the Packmores residents to convert the medical practice into a community centre. Although this request was denied, WCC agreed to see what alternative could be found. 

2023  - There was a long-awaited agreement from WCC and WDC councils to fund the preparatory work for a new community centre for the Packmores area, and a working group was set up to develop the business case, incorporating land surveys.  Local consultation with residents.

2024 – The business case was finalised and approved by Warwick District Council and plans for Priory Pools Community Centre were produced with local consultation and were submitted for planning in August 24.  The new CIO 'Priory Pools Community Centre' was registered with the Charity Commission and took on the next phases of the project.