 There were originally 15 groups involved, including the Patcham Communist Party, and for the first 24 years they existed without their own centre, holding meetings in the school halls in the area.At the same time Alderman Kippin (known as 'Mr Patcham') arranged for a combined community centre and youth club, each with its own suite of rooms but sharing a kitchen, to be included in the basement of a new wing of the Margaret Hardy school.After the 1989 merger of Fawcett and Margaret Hardy into Patcham High brought the boys and girls together on Warmdene Road, more space was needed.