Cleobury Community Hub - Phase 3
Organised by CCHOur aim is to develop our offer to provide accessible facilities for all, including; roped climbing, adult changing places, dance studio and more areas to relax and enjoy good coffee and food.
Story
The dream of the Cleobury Community Hub (CCH) was birthed in 2018 by a group of young people that wanted a space that they could take ownership of, for their whole community. The young people addressed the Town Council, made presentations in their school and presented the idea for the local Neighbourhood Plan. With the support of our youth workers, the young people addressed themes of emotional intelligence, along with character traits to design how the Cleobury Community Hub would interact with the community through a series of training days.
Phase 1 of the CCH opened in September 2019 in the old Methodist Church in Cleobury Mortimer. The idea of Phase 1 was to prove the concept and viability of purpose built space. It covered the themes that the young people highlighted in the training. The plan was designed around hospitality at the core. A space for babies and toddlers, a warm and welcoming environment for adults to gather and spaces for children through to adults to enjoy, exercise and grow in community. It included a high end coffee shop, small soft play area and dance studio.
During lockdown we secured funding to build a small bouldering facility which we named Climb61. We aimed for the wall to be used for building confidence and self-esteem interventions with children and young people from local schools. It was also aimed at making the sport of bouldering accessible to all, especially those that do not participate in mainstream sports. The CCH is open 3 days during the week with the other two days being used for interventions.
Our regular activities include: Rock Tots, Warm Welcome lunch, Kids Climbing Club, Adult social bouldering, SEN parent support group, Active Education Programme, climbing interventions (with at risk groups), Hub Youth, Ladies Night, Good Grief Café, Mens Shed social, Introduction to climbing courses, Understanding Your Child's Behaviour, Alpha Course.
As the CCH has grown its reputation, mainly through word of mouth, other community groups have started gathering regularly at "The Hub". We partner with a local charity and host the Good Grief Café, creating a safe space for people on a grieving journey. The Mens Shed social meets regularly and we host a support group for parents of children with SEN. The CCH partners with a church in Halesowen called Lifecentral (LC) every Sunday afternoon. The Sunday Session offers a place for faith exploration in a safe environment as we enjoy coffee, climbing and stream the service from LC.
We initially thought that Phase 2 would be a new build, using the Neighbourhood Plan and 'Section 106' money (funding from land sale for development) to create the improved version of the CCH once the concept of Phase 1 had been proved. The reality was so much better, as the buy-in and ownership of the space from all ages within our locality became clear pretty quickly.
The CCH has become a safe place for all but don't take our word for it...
"The Hub is a place for everyone. It offers so much to our community. It's a place to gather, connect, exercise, worship, eat and drink. The Hub feels like a family. It's a place away from home, that feels like home." - Roxanne Frances
Phase 2 changed from moving the CCH to a new site, to securing the CCH in it's current form, ready for Phase 3 of development.
Phase 2 intends to safeguard the future of the CCH by purchasing the site from the Methodist Church. We aim to complete this part of the process by June 2024 moving us onto the need for this campaign and your support...
A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality." - Yoko Ono
We love this quote as once the vision has been cast, our community wants to run with it and it has become OUR DREAM. You will notice a number of different fundraising events attached to this campaign. These are from members of the geographic community wanting to support the very diverse community that gather at different times at the Cleobury Community Hub.
The designs and video attached to this campaign show an illustration of what might be. Help us get closer to the reality of supporting our community with:
- A purpose built dance studio
- Increased bouldering
- New roped wall climbing
- Accessible climbing for all including persons with physical disabilities through specialised equipment.
- Changing Places toilet facility (adult disability toilet)
- Coffee shop and kitchen facilities
- Increased flexible room spaces for different activities and events.