A report on Our Community Buildings conference held on 6th October 2009 is now available and includes recommendations for further action. The  conference, held at Springwell Gardens Community Centre in Rotherham on Tuesday 6th October 2009, drew a large crowd of enthusiastic participants. Over 90 people from a variety of local groups - Tenants and Residents Associations, groups running their own buildings and others hiring rooms for community activities - attended the event and took part in workshops and debate.

Our Community Buildings Conference Report (large 4MB pdf file)

Please contact us if you want a hard copy.

The focus of the day was on practical examples of successful projects. Two speakers inspired conference delegates with stories of local involvement with community buildings. Caroline Langston, from the High Street Centre in Rawmarsh, described how the Centre has become a dynamic community hub, offering a huge variety of activities for local residents and responding to local needs. Mary Jacques from Blackburn TARA (Tenants and Resident Association) described some of the imaginative ways in which they had gained funding and support from local companies to upgrade a local building in which they were tenants. With a new kitchen and carpets, it now provides a vital venue for drop-in sessions for the elderly, community learning classes, church activities, TARA meetings and a club for young people.

Other speakers included Ann Hindley, from national organisation Community Matters, who showed delegates some examples of good community managed buildings around the region, whilst Stuart Carr, Facilities Manager at Rotherham Council, updated delegates on progress with a Council Review of Community Buildings.

Workshops also took a practical theme, focusing on Neighbourhood Centres, How to Go About Owning Your Community Building, Getting Funding, Health and Safety and Attracting Volunteers. A variety of stalls included funding organisations and others offering support to any community groups wishing to manage their own building.

Nikky Wilson, one of the conference organisers from Voluntary Action Rotherham, talked about the vital role that community buildings fulfil, noting that “community buildings are essential to support community activities and make neighbourhoods good places to live and work in. They give people opportunities to meet, get involved in a huge array of activities and help them develop a sense of belonging to a place.”

RMBC Presentation (pdf)

Community Assets Presentation (pdf)

Community Builders Presentation (pdf)

Community Matters Presentation (large 2MB pdf file)

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A Community Building in Every Neighbourhood  - Community Matters Statement

Every neighbourhood needs a place to meet, to organise, to socialise and to run activities that is neutral, multi-purpose and controlled by the community. Community Matters’ 1997 report Forgotten Resources? estimated that 4.4 million people use a community building every week. Once a community loses its buildings, it can’t get them back and the social cost of their loss could be much greater than the financial cost of providing them.

We call on Government to take a lead nationally on the issue and to:
• Stop Councils and other local public bodies selling off viable community buildings to developers.
• Encourage local public bodies to transfer viable community buildings to communities where they demonstrate that they can manage them.
• In the most inactive areas, ensure that local public bodies have a duty to retain and maintain viable community buildings, in partnership with the community, or to make other arrangements to protect them while new community organisations in that neighbourhood are given intensive support to take them on.
• Ensure that where community buildings are no longer fit for purpose, Councils have a duty to ensure that other suitable buildings are made available within the same neighbourhood.