Come with us on an exciting Corbridge journey…

May 2024: The Corbridge Community Partnership is a recently formed registered charity. Our aim is to save the former Corbridge Methodist Church building for use by our local community. And for us all to leave behind a brilliant legacy for future Corbridge generations to come.

This historic building in Princes Street was closed as a Methodist Church in April 2022 and is now in its early days as our Corbridge Community Hub. We – as local residents – want to save it from housing development which will only benefit a few people. To create a vibrant centre for much needed community services and activities to benefit everyone in Corbridge. 

   

Transforming this at risk building to meet the demand here for health and wellbeing, education, welfare and other services for the young, old and everyone else in between. Local services our community is missing out on at present.

The Methodist Church authorities are fully supportive of our plans. Offering us a lease with a view to a subsequent Community Partnership purchase of the building. We have already been working hard towards this goal.

 

Hundreds of people have attended our initial public meetings, fund raising events and other activities. With the building already used by organisations such at Tynedale Hospice at Home for local counselling as well as a number of other users.

Many others are also interested in future use to offer services for Corbridge families, people who are vulnerable or isolated and those with dementia and their carers.

 

Dozens of local residents attend regular Tea and Chat afternoons at the Hub as well as fund raising mornings. Other fund raising activities have included a Corbridge Apple Pressing weekend…producing thousands of cans of Corbridge Apple Juice and Corbridge Cider sold in aid of both this project and other local good causes.

While we have established the Corbridge Heritage Centre in one part of the building. Run and staffed by a team of over 20 volunteers – all local residents. The Heritage Centre has already attracted over 1000 visitors – including locals and those from elsewhere in the UK and abroad. Our plans for the building include a larger space for the Heritage Centre and even better displays.

  

We also want the Corbridge Community Hub to be exactly that – a welcoming, inclusive place for the entire community to use. At its heart the Hub will provide a base for a variety of community services in partnership with others.

 

We have commissioned an award-winning firm of architects to draw up plans to transform the interior of the building so that it can best serve our community in future.

The building will include high quality, attractive office, meetings, leisure and social spaces enabling the project to generate income to meet its running costs alongside much needed community services.

 

It will be energy efficient, environmentally friendly and have excellent access to all areas to meet the needs of the whole population. 

Work is set to go ahead as soon as we can secure funding and obtain planning permission. With both Corbridge Parish Council and Northumberland County Council also fully behind our plans, as is our local MP. 

Our application to the government’s Community Ownership Fund for the money to make this happen has now been submitted. With a decision expected by the end of May. That includes the cost of purchasing the building and the cost of the phase one interior works. With £150 million allocated to this fund aimed at projects just like ours. But we will also need the help of our local community here in Corbridge. 

Please go to our Crowdfunder page – with a short video – here.