Posted on July 21, 2011 by Phillip Lee

Recently the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, visited the Bracknell constituency. I had asked him to come down to visit Finchampstead Baptist Centre and Oakwood Youth Challenge. The two centres work as community hubs and are wonderful examples of what the local community can put together. They fit into the Government’s vision of community empowerment and social action, spelt out in our Big Society scheme.

The Big Society is about giving people in the local community the initiative. It aims to give everyone control of their own life and work with friends, neighbours and colleagues to improve things around oneself. To my mind there are no better examples of this than at Oakwood and Finchampstead.  Both sites have relied upon voluntary contributions; have ongoing contracts with local councils and are ongoing examples of successful public –private partnership.

Oakwood youth challenge is the initiative of Tony Pudner, who has built this site for the sole purpose of having a place where young people from the community can engage in activities, such as climbing, archery, dance and mountain biking.  The idea is to provide young people with the opportunity to set themselves goals in life and to learn to meet challenges face on.  Through the programmes and activities provided at Oakwood, children in the community are given a chance to broaden their skill set and learn to strive to meet their goals. The programme is helping many children and young people coming closer to fulfilling their potential in life.

The Finchampstead Baptist Centre demonstrates what can come of cooperation between private and public entities. It is a partnership between the local Finchampstead Baptist Church, Wokingham Borough Council, Finchampstead Parish Council as well as local residents. The Centre serves as a Community hub and has a cafe, sports hall, children’s centre, library and meeting rooms.

Following his visit to the Bracknell constituency, I know that the Secretary of State was struck by the outstanding work being undertaken both at Oakwood Youth Challenge and at Finchampstead Baptist Centre, the services being offered and the positive benefits that these sites are bringing to the communities. I was proud to show him the great initiatives that my constituency has to offer.

(Published in The Wokingham Times on the 24th of May 2011)