The Hanover Community Association
See the ‘HCA Contents’ page for links to our constitution, policies, management information, etc.
Revd Arthur Wagner is remembered for his work with the poor of Brighton. Hanover was one of the poorest districts, and among Wagner’s projects here was a school for boys on Southover Street. Eventually the building fell out of use and in 1975 negotiations started with the council to convert it into a community centre for Hanover. In early 1976 the council approved funding of £15,000 towards renovating the building and £3,500 for the first year’s running costs. An enormous amount of effort and a great many hours of unpaid work was volunteered by local residents and businesses who did the renovation work themselves, including all the carpentry, plastering and plumbing.
As part of this effort, the Hanover Community Association was formed in 1976 to improve the quality of life for the residents of Hanover and to manage the new community centre.
Dame Flora Robson officially opened the centre on 3rd June 1977 as part of the Silver Jubilee celebrations.
We are still here at the heart of Hanover after more than 30 years.
The Hanover Community Association continues to manage the Hanover Centre under a long lease from Brighton & Hove City Council. We also work to reinforce the community spirit of Hanover by playing a lead role in Hanover Day (the best community festival in Brighton) and by running the annual Hanover Beer Festival (the best party in Brighton). We used to run a community newsletter and now provide news pages for the Hanover Directory. We work to promote sustainability by (for example) encouraging cycling, walking and the use of buses; by providing a secure bicycle store; by encouraging the council to provide cycling facilities; and by promoting the use of local businesses.
We aim to reflect the local values of sustainability, environmental responsibility, self-sufficiency and neighbourliness.
We do not depend on any outside funder for our running costs, including all the costs of leasing and managing the Hanover Centre. We are still here at the heart of Hanover after more than 30 years because we can do and say whatever is right for Hanover without fear of losing our funding.
The Hanover Centre is a popular venue for classes, courses and groups to meet; can be hired for children’s and adults’ parties; and (especially now we have improved the acoustics) is a great venue for entertainments. Go to the Hanover Centre Activities page for more information on current activities. Charges are on the Room Hire page – there are discounts for Hanover residents and businesses.
We always need more volunteers and committee members. Why not come along to a meeting and find out more? Contact the office to find out when our next committee meeting is.
We are a registered charity number 272127.
