Covent Garden Community Centre – CGCC
Covent Garden Community Centre is a registered charity that was set up in 1977 (originally called Covent Garden Social and Crafts Centre Association). In September 1999 a fire broke out in a nearby building in Earlham Street. More than 100 firefighters took 5 hours to bring the blaze under control. Police cleared the nearby Cambridge Theatre of hundreds of people who had been hoping to watch a performance of the musical Grease and the performance of the musical Blood Brothers at the nearby Phoenix Theatre had to be abandoned after the audience began coughing because of the smoke.
Most of Earlham Street had to be closed down and it took until 2008 before the building was fit for habitation once again.
The Seven Dials Club ltd is the trading arm of CGCC and runs trading activities including the membership bar, catering for room hire and any other trading activities. All profits go into providing community activities for those who are resident in the area. Room Hire revenue for events, meetings, talks, workshops and performance generates income to cover the rent and rates, staffing and other expenses. CGCC work in partnership with Covent Garden Dragon Hall Trust, the Phoenix Garden and other local organisations to deliver activities for those over 55, children and young people and other communities.
We are now beginning to take bookings for room hire again and look forward to a return to face to face work.
Covent Garden Community Centre
Pandemic Food Bank
Covent Garden Community Centre and partners Covent Garden Dragon Hall Trust started up a food bank, situated at 42 Earlham Street on Wednesday 29th April 2020. Our users were all residents in Covent Garden, Soho, Bloomsbury and the surrounding areas, many were shielding or vulnerable or living with food poverty.
30% of our users came via external referral agencies including Age UK, Adult Social Care & Social Prescribers, Camden and Westminster support workers, local schools, other community centres, housing managers and local GPs.
We are developing other wrap around services to address the need in the area including a lunch club for over 55s.