Perry Common Community Hall is a little treat nestled not far from Conker Island in the midst of Perry Common / Kingstanding. The reason this place is so fab (aside from having had money from Advantage West Midlands, Birmingham City Council and Witton Lodge Community Association which has been used to make an amazing shiny new airy lovely space) is because the staff who work there are just passionate courageous people. You've all seen the knitted bull at the bullring at xmas, and more recently in a Union Flag getup? Well Witton Lodge and Perry Common worked together a couple of YEARS ago and managed to borrow the original lifesize maquette of the bull from it's current owner. It was installed in their carpark for an agreed period of time, during which they motivated local knitters to send in patches of knitting and then cobbled them all together to create a beautiful patchwork coat for the bull. THEY DID IT FIRST! They covered benches on the island, and lamposts and trees, and the residents were all so proud, and local shopkeepers would shoo away anyway picking at the knitting, and it was such a great community cohesion project done with very little money but lots and lots of love! Since then, the teams have continued working together to run other community events in their space and have continued building the social capital of the area! If you fancy popping along to the centre, there are plenty of classes that are run on a regular basis, and the rooms are also available to hire. read more

A community hall that has had a facelift makes this an even bigger gem than just a good community hall. This one sparkles even brighter because it is supported by the Witton Lodge Community Association, which means right there that it is ran and supported by people from the area. Not only is it a great space with a hall and meeting rooms to hire but the staff are fantastic. They are passionate, helpful and enthusiastic. They are always eager to give new things a try, support people to get something happening in the community, and subside activity during trial periods to determine interest. Nestled in the heart of Perry Common, Kingstanding, on the edge of Conker Island, it is a greta place to visit and if something is happening on the island it's bound to be them that's doing it. They have knitting groups that were the first to fully cover the Bullring Bull, and if there isn't a group for something and there is interest then they'll get it happening. IJoin their Facebook group, find out when they are up to something and turn up and support them. read more

I'm a great believer of supporting the community, especially those communities which need a bit more support. Its the same with my passion for this community hall because I think it's somewhere, people within that community and beyond can socialise, entertain and educate each other. Recently the hall has been transformed into an impressive building- modernised, with excellent facilities. The hall itself is very open and used as a conference, function or workshop space. There are also other meeting rooms which can be hired out to the public, so they are excellent for those wanting to hold a small meeting in the local area. They hold small workshop groups there for the young and elderly; workshops doing various activities. What they've done is made sure this community hall is open to the public and that they engage with the people around them. Also, the staff at the community hall are some of the most dedicated and determined members of staff who really love doing what they do. To be fair, everyone talks about the funding they've received from major organisations to rejuvenate this place but I think the people are using the building to their best of abilities. read more