Fears have grown that a valuable community centre could be forced to close due to a lack of volunteers and the impact of the pandemic.

The chair of Stanwix Community Association and city councillor Paul Nedved fears for the future of Stanwix Community Centre on Church Street.

In the past, the centre has been well-used for private bookings and is one of the cheapest room hires north of the river in Carlisle.

However, it has not been able to open regularly due to the Covid-19 restrictions that have been in place.

Mr Nedved said: “We are urgently in need of support as we have had a few volunteers retiring or moving away over the last year, as well as not being able to regularly open due to Covid-19 over the last 12 months.

“If we don’t get the support, we could lose it.

“This is a plea for volunteers, as we are relying on a small group of dedicated volunteers with no outside funding to keep this well-run community centre open.”

Stanwix Community Centre is used by a number of local groups and societies, including Friends of Rickerby Park, Stanwix in Bloom Committee and Stanwix Big Tidy.

Afew volunteers are working hard to keep the site open – and those involved were praised by Mr Nedved for their efforts.

He added: “We rely on a few dedicated volunteers to keep this community centre open, like Ray Cassidy, our former chairman, and councillors Liz Mallinson and Fiona Robson.

"Pam McCall, our booking manager, is our main driving force and has been ever-present for many years.

“We also have great support from Becky and Rhona from the adjoining pre- school building.

"Bob Steele, our long-term treasurer for more than 15 years, recently retired from the centre and whose assistance and time has been invaluable.

" We are hoping to reopen shortly, so anyone who is interested in organising events, doing book-keeping, maintenance, IT, please get in contact.”

Anyone who is able to help can get in touch by calling Mr Nedved on 07745302097.