The old Walton Centre on Manor Road reopens on Tuesday as a charity-run hub: high tea from 2pm, no booking, then a twice-weekly café and a hot lunch open to all.
The Walton Centre on Manor Road reopens on Tuesday 29 September as Walton Community Hub. It has been shut since 24 July.
It is the first time the building opens under new owners. Elmbridge Borough Council no longer runs it. Walton Charity took ownership of the Walton and Cobham centres on 17 August, and the charity Voices of Hope now runs the Walton building day to day.
Walton Charity announced the date on its news page. Voices of Hope has published the opening programme and the weekly timetable on its Walton page.
The Great Walton Get-Together
The reopening afternoon runs from 2pm to 4pm on Tuesday 29 September. According to Voices of Hope, it includes:
- high tea and live music from 2pm
- an introduction to the hub and its programme at 2.45pm
- a game of bingo from 3.30pm
Visitors can look round the building and meet the Voices of Hope, Walton Charity and Thamesview Preschool teams. The charity says there is no need to book.
Two more opening events follow the next week:
| Date | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 6 October | 10am to 2pm | Coffee morning and games in Café Hope, with canasta and bridge |
| Wednesday 7 October | 11.30am to 3pm | Launch of the East Surrey Women’s Hub (women only), with a choir taster and a Mediterranean buffet |
The address is Walton Community Hub, Manor Road, Walton-on-Thames, KT12 2PB.
What runs there each week
Voices of Hope’s September timetable lists its own sessions alongside groups that hire rooms independently. The sessions it marks as open to all, or runs itself, include:
- Café Hope, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9.30am to 3pm
- Walton Community Choir, Tuesdays, 11am to noon, open to all
- Coffee and games morning with canasta and Scrabble, Tuesdays, 10am to noon
- Bridge, Tuesdays, 1pm to 2pm
- Community art class, Thursdays, 10am to 11.30am
- Hot lunch, Thursdays, noon to 1pm, open to all
- Bingo, one Friday a month, 1pm to 2pm
Tai chi, yoga, strength and balance, a children’s musical theatre group, a Ukrainian children’s fencing club and Walton Art Club also appear on the timetable. Those are run by independent hirers, so you book with the provider rather than the hub.
On Wednesdays the building hosts the East Surrey Women’s Hub, which is for women only. Voices of Hope says it supports women affected by domestic abuse and other hardship. An East Surrey Girls Hub is listed from 10 November.
Why the council handed it over
The council agreed in April 2026 to transfer the Walton and Cobham centres to Walton Charity. The charity’s Walton hub FAQs say ownership lets it invest directly in the building.
The same FAQs set out one protection. Councillors attached conditions so that no new owner or tenant can sell, lease or dispose of a centre without the council’s permission, or the permission of whichever council succeeds it. That matters because Elmbridge Borough Council is abolished on 1 April 2027.
Walton Charity says it has supported people in the area for more than 800 years. It runs the Walton and Hersham Foodbank and a community allotment on Terrace Road, among other work.
The other centres, and who runs them now
The Walton handover is one part of what the council calls its Connected Communities programme. Its 14 September update lists where each former council centre has gone:
| Centre | Now run by | Status in the council’s update |
|---|---|---|
| Walton Centre, Manor Road | Voices of Hope, for owner Walton Charity | Reopens 29 September |
| Cobham Centre, Oakdene Road | Cobham Community Hub CIC, for owner Walton Charity | Reopening “in September”, date to be confirmed |
| Hersham Centre | Voices of Hope | Reopened 8 September |
| Claygate Community Centre | Claygate Community Alliance | Took over 1 September; open weekdays 9.30am to 4pm and Saturday mornings |
| Molesey Centre | St Peter’s West Molesey, as St Peter’s Community Hub | Reopened, with The Keys café |
Cobham has slipped. Walton Charity’s news page says the Cobham hub will not now have its planned soft opening on 5 September because of extra works. It is “hoping” to open within September, but no date has been set. With three days of the month left after Walton’s opening, that looks unlikely.
The council’s Cobham Community Hub page still says only that the date is “to be confirmed”.
What it means for you
- If you used the Walton Centre before July, go along on Tuesday. The FAQs say most activities will continue but “some scheduling will adjust”. Check your group’s slot on the new timetable.
- If you want to hire a room, Voices of Hope has put a venue booking form on its Walton page. Regular hirers fill in a separate registration form.
- If you need a lift, the council’s Community Transport service still runs to the centres. Call 01372 474944. Surrey Connect buses also stop at them.
- If you want to volunteer, email Voices of Hope at info@voh.org.uk.
- If you are waiting on Cobham, the transition manager’s contact is on the council’s Cobham page. We will report the date when it is set.
The Dementia Service at Claygate Community Centre is not affected by the changes, according to the council.
For more on what is happening across the borough, see our things to do in Elmbridge page.
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