A West Watford community centre is hoping that its new range of youth activities will help bring people together.

The Multicultural Community Centre, in Durban Road West, is launching a series of projects to extend its appeal and encourage a more diverse range of visitors.

Founded in 1985, the centre, which is funded in part by Watford Borough Council, was intended to bring people from different cultures together. Its leadership, however, feels that in recent years it has not been multi-cultural enough – with predominantly Asian groups enjoying the majority of its services.

Centre Manager Martin Renshaw hopes that a new Saturday Culture Club, promoting dance, photography, art, enterprise and textiles, will encourage greater diversity and community integration and has urged more people to support the centre’s existing programme of events.

He said: “ There is a perception out there that this is a centre only for the Asian community and that is not correct. It is a centre that is open for everybody and we’d love to see some new people visiting. There are people living very nearby who never come here which is a real shame.

“We have seen some new faces in my time here but we’d love to see more in the future. We’d like to remind people that we are he for the whole community of Watford. We feel it is important that people feel ownership over the centre and want to use it.”

The new Saturday Club sessions, beginning on September 10, will take place every week until December 17, when an end of term show will be held to exhibit the youngsters’ work. They will be available to 11 to 16 year-olds at a cost of £1 per person per day.

Councillor Mark Watkin, a member of the management committee, said: “The centre already offers a considerable range of activities for people of all ages and backgrounds, but this programme takes what we offer to a higher level. It will enable young people to learn new skills, make new friends and above all just have great fun, discovering talents they never knew they had.”