STAR of the hit BBC Series Beyond Paradise, Zahra Ahmadi, returned to the real-life Shipton Abbot on Thursday, March 19 to open a new community centre in Looe.

The community gathered to celebrate the opening of the Meeting Place, a new space run by local youth and community charity Boundless Trust.

After speeches from Looe town mayor, Stephen Remington, and co-chair of Boundless Trust, Barney Barron, Zahra cut the ribbon to officially open the new centre. Pasties and scones from local bakery, Sarah’s Pasties, and lots of conversation followed.

The Meeting Place hosts a community larder and welcome space three times per week, as well as community cooking classes and a hub for Liskeard and Looe Foodbank.

Boundless Trust is a youth and community charity, operating in Looe and the surrounding villages. Amongst other services, they provide weekly youth and children’s clubs, community meals, and a community larder.

This January marked their 5-year anniversary and has coincided with them expanding operations from their youth centre, the Haven, adding the Meeting Place as a dedicated space working to support people experiencing social isolation, homelessness, and food poverty.

Community coordinator for Boundless Trust, Sara Barron, has seen first-hand the importance of spaces like this to bring people together.

She said: “Looe is a beautiful town, but like many small coastal communities, when you scratch beneath the surface there are lots of people living in poverty and isolation.

“The Meeting Place will bring people together in a safe and judgement-free space, where everyone is welcome, to serve and support one another.”

Looe is the primary filming location for the fictional Shipton Abbot in the TV series Beyond Paradise. Zahra Ahmadi plays DS Esther Williams alongside other stars, Kris Marshall, Sally Bretton, Dylan Llewellyn and Felicity Montagu.

At the event, Zahra said: “There’s nothing I love more than community, so I think the work you do here is incredible.”

This project has been directly supported by Looe Town Council. Mayor Stephen Remington said: “Looe Town Council is delighted to be associated with Boundless Trust.

“I thank them for all they do and hope that the relationship between us will build so even more can be offered to our community, where and when it is most needed.”