Our History
Re-Create holds a minutes record from a meeting that was held on Wednesday January 29th 1986 at 11.15 a.m. at the Community Support Anti-Waste Scheme building in Hope Street, Splott. The aim of the group that met that day was to set up a Children’s Play Resource Centre.
The group later became the management committee of a registered Charity called South Glamorgan Play Services Association on 14th October 1987.
During the early years the Play Services committee worked closely with
South Glamorgan Play Bus Association management committee and staff to develop the Resource Centre which eventually opened on 1st May 1988.
The Play Resource Centre’s aim then was to provide a range of support services for people working with children. Services such as:
·A Scrapstore: a wide variety of re-usable waste and surplus material donated and collected from firms around South Wales to re-use in children’s play. Information Services: an information area with publications on play, play equipment, legislation and other subjects that affect play providers and also a regular newsletter. Hire Equipment: large and expensive items of play equipment such as badge machines to be available. Arts and Crafts shop: to stock a wide range of cut-price arts and crafts materials.
To provide these services the charity set up a company limited by guarantee called Cardiff Play Resource Centre to be its trading arm. The tenancy of the building the Centre was located in was shared with the Play Bus. For the first year it ran as a Community Programme with funding from the Manpower Services Commission. There were approximately twenty people on the project and about the same number involved in a Community Programme with Play Bus. As well as the Community Programme, Play Bus had three workers from an Urban Programme grant.
At the end of that year the Community Programme initiative was ended and both projects lost every worker. The end of the Community Programme was a disaster for many projects, in Swansea the Scrapstore closed completely. In
Cardiff the Play Bus development team funded by the Urban Programme grant were left with the responsibility for their own project as well as the development of the Resource Centre. For a couple of years the Play Resource Centre survived with the support of the Play Bus development team and because of the dedication of the committee members. The Centre relocated to our present building on Ely Industrial Estate. It is a 5000 plus square foot warehouse built in the 1940’s. Re-Create has been situated here since St David’s Day 1989.
The group later became the management committee of a registered Charity called South Glamorgan Play Services Association on 14th October 1987.
During the early years the Play Services committee worked closely with
South Glamorgan Play Bus Association management committee and staff to develop the Resource Centre which eventually opened on 1st May 1988.
The Play Resource Centre’s aim then was to provide a range of support services for people working with children. Services such as:
·A Scrapstore: a wide variety of re-usable waste and surplus material donated and collected from firms around South Wales to re-use in children’s play. Information Services: an information area with publications on play, play equipment, legislation and other subjects that affect play providers and also a regular newsletter. Hire Equipment: large and expensive items of play equipment such as badge machines to be available. Arts and Crafts shop: to stock a wide range of cut-price arts and crafts materials.
To provide these services the charity set up a company limited by guarantee called Cardiff Play Resource Centre to be its trading arm. The tenancy of the building the Centre was located in was shared with the Play Bus. For the first year it ran as a Community Programme with funding from the Manpower Services Commission. There were approximately twenty people on the project and about the same number involved in a Community Programme with Play Bus. As well as the Community Programme, Play Bus had three workers from an Urban Programme grant.
At the end of that year the Community Programme initiative was ended and both projects lost every worker. The end of the Community Programme was a disaster for many projects, in Swansea the Scrapstore closed completely. In
Cardiff the Play Bus development team funded by the Urban Programme grant were left with the responsibility for their own project as well as the development of the Resource Centre. For a couple of years the Play Resource Centre survived with the support of the Play Bus development team and because of the dedication of the committee members. The Centre relocated to our present building on Ely Industrial Estate. It is a 5000 plus square foot warehouse built in the 1940’s. Re-Create has been situated here since St David’s Day 1989.
