It’s been months now that the community hall in the park has been closed to residents for meetings and events. Although the nursery and playgroup continue to operate, the closure is a loss for small groups, classes and community events.

Hope is at hand. A number of community groups and local clubs have gathered together to bid for the right to run the hall. It is supported by representatives of all the local political parties, the church, sports clubs, the Burpham Community Association and Neighbourhood Forum, and it is chaired by Burpham Wellbeing.

The group would manage the hall in the evenings and weekends so that there is a place for local activities, and it would prioritise community events. Its vision is to make Sutherland Hall a hub for local people with a special emphasis on health, wellbeing, community and Burpham residents. Hire rates will be affordable and most importantly, run by you and for you.

The council invited groups to express interest in managing the hall, but later withdrew the offer ‘to do a bit more work on the qualitative assessment of expressions of interest’. We are once again waiting on the council.

…the vision is to make Sutherland Hall a hub for local people with a special emphasis on health, wellbeing, community and Burpham residents.

Once we are up and running, we will cover all our costs and in the meantime we are applying for grants to help us ‘start up’. But what we need most is people with expertise
in, say, writing a business plan, forming a health and safety policy, formalising the group as a properly-constituted entity, establishing a booking system and so on. We’d love to hear from residents if they have this expertise and can support our efforts this winter.