Basketball court, pool: New Community Gro facility opens at former Castle Hill PCYC

A basketball court, swimming pool and skate park are only a few of the facilities offered at Community Gro’s newest location. See the full list.

A popular neighbourhood centre offering learning opportunities, quality services and a friendly face to share a cup of tea with, have widened their reach into the community.

The Community Gro officially opened the doors of their new Garbutt facility on Thursday after four years of development, welcoming more visitors than ever.

CEO of Community Gro, Kathrin Meehan said the old Castle Hill PCYC provided nearly three times the space then they had available previously.

Naomi Leftwich with her son Darius, 6mths, and daughter Hazeldawn, 13, inside the Garbutt Community Centre. Picture: Shae Beplate.

“Our last location was a small house so we weren’t able to have people come in and stay for periods of time to offer them support and get them on the road with other referral services,” she said.

“We see about 2000 people a month through our centre … that was a bit of a stretch to try and get them through the doors so this way people are able to come have a cuppa, sit down, relax in the airconditioning and we can support them in a much bigger space and with more programs.”

“We’re always welcoming volunteers who can come in and help with programs or cooking meals for our centre and community.”

With the new facility, Community Gro is able to take advantage of the indoor basketball court, swimming pool, larger kitchen and dining area and free ‘op-shop’ while running craft workshops, women's yarning circles and men’s groups.

Naomi Leftwich is one of many people who visits the Community Gro centres, but she said it’s the sense of community and connection that has helped her and her family to really benefit from the services.

Community Gro Chair Mark Tyrell, Community Gro CEO Kathrin Meehan, Mayor Jenny Hill and, Member for Townsville Scott Stewart at the official opening of the Garbutt Community Centre. Picture: Shae Beplate.

“I’m going through post-natal depression at the moment, so I can come and talk about it and they’re there to support me and take me to go see other people,” Ms Leftwich said.

“My children go to the youth hub and they all love that and it’s really good to give me a break too.”

“The girls are there to help so if you come down to talk about a problem they will try and find a solution to help you.”

Mayor Jenny Hill said the Queensland Government had provided $1.3m to Townsville City Council to upgrade the area.

“This is stage one so stage two will be revamping Harolds Phillips Park as well as the skate facility which is down the back there. We’re going to revamp this whole area so it truly becomes a community complex,” she said.

“Whether it’s sporting, whether it just where kids can gather safely, whether it’s the provision of a skate park or even a community garden, if we can create a safe space here in this end of Garbutt I think it will go a long way in helping us deal with some of our communities problems.”

For more information visit their website here.

Originally published as Basketball court, pool: New Community Gro facility opens at former Castle Hill PCYC