A community centre is hoping for a new lease of life following extensive refurbishment.

The work at Girlington Community Centre in Bradford has allowed the Jobs @ Manningham Project to move in, providing it with a third base in the area from which to offer help to young people looking for work.

Many community groups were forced to meet elsewhere during the building work.

Now it is hoped to attract them again, along with new groups and users, to make the centre a thriving social focal point for the diverse community in Girlington.

The work of the centre and the organisations based there will be celebrated in a special open day next week.

"This is a great opportunity to revitalise the centre and build up the social aspects of it," said centre manager Sarah Blow. "We want to be part of the regeneration of the community and for the centre to be a hub where people can come and mingle.

"This is a massive venue with 22 rooms and two halls and we want people to use it as local meeting place."

Although services based at the centre continued to operate during the refurbishment, the centre had been closed to more casual users for 12 months, forcing some to relocate.

The centre has recently been awarded a £26,000 grant to fund a community development worker who will look at ways of getting local people involved with the centre. The open day is being held on Friday. Between 10am and noon, there will be a variety of events for women, including a flower arranging demonstration and dance workshops.

Schools workshops will be held between 1pm and 3pm. Throughout the day there will be exhibitions by organisations based at the centre. These include the Girlington Action Partnership, Manningham and Girlington Youth Partnership, Girlington Advice Centre, Yorkshire Association of Clubs for Young People and the Afghan Community Welfare Association.

Anyone who would like more information about the open day should contact the centre on 542454.