Arts and sports hub could 'help regenerate cities'

Roland Burt said the Roots and Rise hub in Peterborough could inspire other shopping centre managers to host community initiatives

An arts and sports hub in a Peterborough shopping centre could be the "seed to regenerate city centres" across the country, one of its founders has said.

Roland Burt runs the RB7 Arts Centre community interest company and he opened the Roots and Rise unit at the Queensgate Shopping Centre last month.

He said it was a place where people could "come and congregate" and he hoped it could inspire other shopping centres to fill empty units with community projects.

The hub includes workshop and exhibition spaces as well as a recording studio and multi-sports pitch. It will host football sessions led by Peterborough United FC.

Mr Burt, who has previously opened a shop and workshop space in Queensgate, will hold sessions at Roots and Rise for people of all ages who are "struggling".

"Whether it's in education, with mental health or a physical disability - we show them that art is a way of releasing those tensions," he said.

"Young adults that are struggling on the streets and they're not quite sure what to do with themselves – we show them that art, if used in a positive way, can lead to a positive life."

RB7 Arts Centre will hold workshops at the new hub

Mr Burt's own art, which is exhibited at Roots and Rise, is a "mixture of Afro-Caribbean and English art", he said.

Kerry Cassidy, another of the project's organisers, is a Peterborough Lions rugby coach as well as a teacher focusing on special educational needs.

She says sport can be similarly therapeutic and is another way of occupying young people.

"What we want to do is rehabilitate people through different forms of therapy, whether that be sports therapy, music therapy or arts therapy," she said.

Ms Kerry said a punching ball for boxing, a table tennis table and snooker table had been donated to the venue by local people.

Kerry Cassidy said the hub would offer sports, music and arts therapy

The team is accepting further donations and also want more people to get involved with the project.

"We're not here to whisper," Mr Burt said.

"We're here to shout how proud we are of this city. We're right in the centre.

"It's easy to get to; we've got huge car parks. What more do you need? You don't need any other excuses to stay away. Come along and join us."

There is also a sport pitch in the hub, supported by local teams

Catherine Lambert, centre director at Queensgate, said: "Roots and Rise is more than a new space - it's a statement about what can be achieved when sport, creativity and community come together."

The venue will host an official opening on Friday. It is also available to hire.