Community
The Hippodrome is situated in the heart of London's West End, adjacent to Chinatown. United Leisure Gaming Ltd, the consortium behind the Hippodrome's redevelopment, has offered to create brand new premises for the Chinese Community Centre, an important community support service that delivers valuable assistance, advice and education to many thousands of Chinese workers and residents in the area.
The Chinese Community Centre was set up 25 years ago to provide a range of support and information services and to promote awareness and understanding of the Chinese community on local, regional and national levels. Last year alone it helped 36,000 people and secured over £12 million of benefits for its members. London's Chinese Community Centre has faced an uncertain future since 2004, when it received notice of termination of the lease on its existing Chinatown premises, and it had great difficulty finding suitable alternative accommodation in the area and feared it would close down. The Directors of United Leisure Gaming became aware of the Centre's continuing plight. They raised the issue with their consortium partners, who agreed to look at ways to incorporate the Centre within their redevelopment plans.
The Directors have offered a rent free lease for 20 years that will safeguard the Centre's presence in Chinatown for the next two decades. The offer also includes funds towards new equipment for the facility such as furniture, computers and library equipment.
Simon Thomas, Chairman of United Leisure Gaming Ltd. explains: "We are very pleased to be able to support this valuable community facility within our scheme. Interestingly it will not require a conversion of existing space, as we plan to create this brand new facility in a void area within the existing Hippodrome building. Once completed, it will provide approximately 4,000 sq ft over two floors with lift access, a kitchen, office, library, computer training room, activity space and meeting rooms." The Centre is a key partner in Westminster City Council's work on the Chinatown Action Plan, which sets out the Council's ambitions for renewal of the area; as such, one of the most important actions in that plan has been to secure new premises for the Centre.
Chinese Community Centre Chairman Christine Yau is delighted: "Since learning of our eviction in 2008 we approached a large number of local businesses for help. We are enormously relieved and very grateful to the Directors of United Leisure for their generosity. If all big business was as kind to charities and communities as United Leisure, what a much better society we could all be living in."
The Chinese Community Centre was set up 25 years ago to provide a range of support and information services and to promote awareness and understanding of the Chinese community on local, regional and national levels. Last year alone it helped 36,000 people and secured over £12 million of benefits for its members. London's Chinese Community Centre has faced an uncertain future since 2004, when it received notice of termination of the lease on its existing Chinatown premises, and it had great difficulty finding suitable alternative accommodation in the area and feared it would close down. The Directors of United Leisure Gaming became aware of the Centre's continuing plight. They raised the issue with their consortium partners, who agreed to look at ways to incorporate the Centre within their redevelopment plans.
The Directors have offered a rent free lease for 20 years that will safeguard the Centre's presence in Chinatown for the next two decades. The offer also includes funds towards new equipment for the facility such as furniture, computers and library equipment.
Simon Thomas, Chairman of United Leisure Gaming Ltd. explains: "We are very pleased to be able to support this valuable community facility within our scheme. Interestingly it will not require a conversion of existing space, as we plan to create this brand new facility in a void area within the existing Hippodrome building. Once completed, it will provide approximately 4,000 sq ft over two floors with lift access, a kitchen, office, library, computer training room, activity space and meeting rooms." The Centre is a key partner in Westminster City Council's work on the Chinatown Action Plan, which sets out the Council's ambitions for renewal of the area; as such, one of the most important actions in that plan has been to secure new premises for the Centre.
Chinese Community Centre Chairman Christine Yau is delighted: "Since learning of our eviction in 2008 we approached a large number of local businesses for help. We are enormously relieved and very grateful to the Directors of United Leisure for their generosity. If all big business was as kind to charities and communities as United Leisure, what a much better society we could all be living in."
