Residents from Coleford and surrounding areas turned out in force on Friday (6th February) to support the launch of the village’s new community hub.
‘At The Hub’ is based at the old school building in Church Street, at the heart of the village, and is run by a new village social enterprise, which aims to bring together public agencies, community organisations and businesses, in a bid to tackle rural isolation.
The building, which is also home to Coleford’s youth club, is available for local groups and individuals to hire and will act as a new meeting place for the village and surrounding areas.
The not-for-profit social enterprise, which has been established with support from Mendip District Council, will encourage public agencies to make their services available through the hub, making it easier for local people to access the services they need.
Organisations in attendance at the launch included the YMCA, You Can do Active Living Group, IT Help at Home, a local business mentoring group, Frome Men’s Shed, neighbourhood police, Mendip Credit Union, Bluebird Care, Coleford Revival Group, Coleford Theatre Group, Coleford Parish Council, CAB, Mendip Community Support, Aster Homes and local health and fitness groups.
Cllr Philip Ham, Portfolio Holder for Policy and Performance and district councillor for Coleford, said: “It was great to see so many people turn out to support the launch of the new hub and find out more about how it can help them connect with the services they need.
“Coleford has a very strong community, which has been the key to making this project a success. I’m confident that the new hub will be a real benefit to the people of Coleford and surrounding areas and I’m pleased that Mendip District Council has been able to support such a worthwhile initiative.”
The new Coleford hub is a smaller version of the Shape Mendip public services hub in Shepton Mallet. Based in Cannards Grave Road, the Shape Mendip hub is home to Mendip District Council, Somerset County Council, Shepton Mallet Town Council, The Landscape Group and other public service providers. The police are set to relocate to the hub in early 2015.