Ealing Council is investing almost a quarter of a million pounds in brand new facilities in Southall for the benefit of local residents.

The redevelopment of Aleka House on the Havelock Estate is now complete and has transformed the old, dilapidated building into a modern community hub.

The council is contributing £220,000 towards the new Havelock Family Centre, which boasts fully accessible facilities including a hall, training and counselling rooms, a crèche, kitchen, offices and toilets.

It is designed to be a safe and welcoming facility for children, families and tenants of the nearby Havelock Estate. The centre provides a range of regular services as well as an attractive space for other organisations and community groups to hire.

There will be activities for older people to combat loneliness and isolation, as well as parenting workshops, education and employability training, free Wi-Fi access, language and IT classes, and health and well-being sessions.

The centre will also aim to improve community ties by offering regular events for people to meet with other people local to the Havelock Estate.

Work on the centre is now complete and will open to local people in the coming weeks.

Councillor Julian Bell, Leader of Ealing Council said: "We are fighting to preserve vital services for local people and I know just how important the Havelock Family Centre is to the local community here in Southall."

"I have seen first-hand the great work that goes on providing these services. Now that a new and refurbished building has been secured and is ready to open, I have no doubt that it will continue to be a fantastic family resource. Congratulations to all who have worked so hard to secure these facilities for the centre."

Dilmohan Singh Bhasin, vice chair of the Havelock Family Centre said: "We have been working to secure a new community centre for 14 years and have been hard at work in the building phase over the last six months. The community centre has benefited from a total refurbishment thanks to fundraising of the Havelock Family Centre Committee, the Clinical Commissioning Group and Ealing Council."

"Thanks to the efforts of the council we have progressed from the original building to this new one, complete with a huge range of new facilities. We will now have the opportunity to offer the community advice and information services, workshops and contact care."

Councillor Julian Bell joins Virendra Sharma MP and trustees at the opening of the Havelock Family Centre.