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<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s a bright spring afternoon in Hillfields. The neighbourhood green buzzes with life \u2014 kids tear around the skatepark, parents chat by the swings. In one corner, raised beds bloom in the community garden. In another, the old community centre stands quiet \u2014 for now.<\/p>\n Showing us around is Sarah Rogers \u2014 part tour guide, part whirlwind. She\u2019s the CEO and co-founder of Hillfields Community Garden and barely takes a few steps without someone stopping her. Sarah is the driving force behind efforts to revive the centre, after the charity that ran it folded last year following two decades of service.<\/p>\n Inside, the building is cluttered with boxes and stacked furniture. The vision for the space is bold: a community caf\u00e9, debt and housing advice, wellbeing and adult education services, and welcoming rooms where people can get help \u2014 or just have a cuppa.<\/p>\n Sarah had hoped to open last September. But big hurdles remain. The team is operating under a temporary licence, with no lease and no secured funding for urgent repairs. \u201cThe boiler quote came back at \u00a334,000 \u2014 and that\u2019s for gas! I\u2019m an environmentalist. I want solar!\u201d she says, exasperated.<\/p>\n But the demand for the centre is clear. \u201cI haven\u2019t spent a penny on advertising, but the list of people and organisations who want to use the space is now five pages long.\u201d<\/p>\n People keep asking when they\u2019ll open. Her answer? \u201cAs soon as we can!\u201d<\/p>\n Sarah hopes to open later this summer, but nothing is guaranteed. \u201cEverything is at a glacial pace,\u201d she says. \u201cWe just have to keep our nerve.\u201d<\/p>\n Community centres in the age of austerity<\/strong><\/p>\n Before it stood empty, the building was known as the Hillfields Hub \u2014 home to the Hillfields Family and Community Trust, a charity rooted in the area for more than 20 years. It was started by two local mums who formed the Hillfields Young Mothers Group. Through the pandemic, they kept going: running food support, offering a steady presence, and holding space for the community.<\/p>\n Sarah\u2019s own journey began in the garden across the square. She co-founded it with another local mum, Becca Mills, starting with raised beds and weekend events. What began as a hobby evolved into a job when growing community demand led to the organisation\u2019s registration as a charity.<\/p>\n When the centre\u2019s former operators gave notice in early 2024, Sarah didn\u2019t hesitate.<\/p>\n \u201cI threw myself into it,\u201d she says. \u201cI wrote a 45-page business plan, applied for the funding to redo the kitchen, wrote 25 policies, and went out to network with every sector I could get a foot in the door \u2014 from sport to NHS, to young people, to older people\u2026\u201d she lists.<\/p>\n We didn\u2019t build it for people. They designed and built it. It\u2019s theirs<\/p>\n Sarah Rogers<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Her team got the keys in February this year. Since then, she\u2019s written several funding bids, drafted a new business plan, and laid the groundwork for relaunch.<\/p>\n For a long time, she did it solo. \u201cI do HR, fundraising, payroll. I\u2019m the CEO and the cleaner,\u201d she laughs. \u201cYou have to be a 360-degree Swiss Army knife.\u201d<\/p>\n Now she leads a small team: a community connector, a centre coordinator, an outdoor learning lead, and, more recently, a community chef. But the graft is still tough.<\/p>\n But Sarah is quick to credit her team and the wider support network \u2014 including a tight-knit group of volunteers, a dedicated board and local councillors like Kelvin Blake and Ellie King, and Kerry Rowe, a Community Development practitioner.<\/p>\n We speak to one of the volunteers, Vanessa, a nutritionist and analyst with deep knowledge of food access. \u201cThis community,\u201d she says, \u201chas a wealth of knowledge, heaps of enthusiasm, and real commitment. There\u2019s a public health benefit to making sure people eat well.\u201d<\/p>\n Funding remains piecemeal \u2014 from the National Lottery, Bristol City Council, the Quartet Community Foundation, the NHS, and others. It\u2019s a snapshot of how community centres survive in austerity Britain: short-term grants, no guarantees.<\/p>\n Built together, not for<\/strong><\/p>\n The community garden was shaped by local people, and Sarah is determined that the centre will be too. \u201cWe didn\u2019t build it for people. They designed and built it. It\u2019s theirs.\u201d<\/p>\n That ethos runs through everything. \u201cI could make you a cup of tea, or I could say, \u2018Do you want to come make it with me?\u2019 It might end up being chai, not tea. But we\u2019re doing it together, and that\u2019s what\u2019s important\u201d<\/p>\n The over-60s club, Silver Explorers, follows that model. \u201cI had the idea, but they shaped it. One week it\u2019s chair yoga, the next a history talk \u2014 depending on what they want,\u201d Sarah says.<\/p>\n Anyone running services in the building will be asked to take the same approach. \u201cNo more parachute in, parachute out. If you want to work here, you can sign a partnership agreement. It has to uplift local people.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the weight she carries, Sarah is clear: \u201cI love doing it. The more I did, the better I was. But it\u2019s a bright candle I burn for myself,\u201d she says. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to make sure you don\u2019t burn through your fuel too fast.\u201d<\/p>\n Hillfields is changing, as people move in, drawn by more affordable house prices and green spaces. But the centre is back in community hands \u2014 and for Sarah and the team, that\u2019s what matters most.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we can hold onto a sense of community ownership and place, we\u2019ve got a fighting chance of building something that lasts. But we still have a broken boiler!\u201d<\/p>\n To support or get involved with the project, contact Sarah at: Independent. Investigative. Indispensable.<\/p>\n Investigative journalism strengthens democracy \u2013 it\u2019s a necessity, not a luxury.<\/p>\n The Cable is Bristol\u2019s independent, investigative newsroom. Owned and steered by more than 2,500 members<\/b>, we produce award-winning journalism that digs deep into what\u2019s happening in Bristol.<\/p>\n We are on a mission to become sustainable, and to do that we need more members. <\/b>Will you help us get there?<\/b><\/p>\n
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info@hillfieldscommunitygarden.co.uk<\/a> or donate to the crowdfunder<\/a>. <\/p>\n