300 Villagers Put Their Names on New Building
08/10/2025
After two years of raising money, a community centre on the outskirts of York is opening its new Studio Suite as part of a major refurbishment project.
Above the entrance to the new suite of rooms are the words 'The Centre Studios' and within each letter of the sign, are embedded the names of over 300 local people who donated funding in exchange for their names becoming part of the fabric of the building.
The Poppleton Centre Out o’ Space project was launched in 2023, and the first phase of the project came to fruition as Poppleton Community Trust chair Robin Tomlinson (pictured below) welcomed guests to help him cut the ribbon.
The two studios have been created with dance, keep fit, aerobics, mobility and other activities in mind, with sprung floors, air conditioning, mirror walls and ballet barres in place to satisfy the most demanding class leader – making the centre one of the best equipped facilities in the York area. This £300,000 development was part funded by a £97,000.00 grant from FCC Communities Foundation.
Adding the two new rooms was essential to satisfy demand from the village and surrounding area.
Robin Tomlinson said “We’ve been under pressure for a while now, and these new rooms will make a huge difference by enabling us to fulfil our role as the village hub".
Not only does the Centre benefit from a new studio suite but their community café, 'Poppleton Social', now also boasts a brand new state-of-the-art kitchen. The last phase of the Out o’ Space Project is now almost complete too which will see the café nearly doubled in size.
Robin Tomlinson also added "The development team have been working hard for over two years on this project and without their efforts and the enormous support we have had from the village, Parish Councils, local businesses and grant funders like FCC Communities Foundation, we couldn’t have achieved our goals.”
Pictured below is Poppleton Community Trust chair Robin Tomlinson welcoming guests to help him cut the ribbon.
