Help! We bought a community centre!

The residents of Whitfield on Monday, took control of Whitfield Community Centre.

In August 2024, Derbyshire County Council closed the Ebenezer Street building, which they had used as a youth and community centre since the 1960s. Since then, a small but determined group of activists have worked tirelessly to secure the property for the community. Whitfield Food Club used to rent part of the building, once a week, to distribute food. With closure looming, it was forced to try and buy the Victorian hall.

This week will be the culmination of nine months effort by the Food Club, helped by a group which took over Gamesley Community Centre, two local churches, the Glossop Volunteer Bureau, councillors and many others.

Now the centre will again provide facilities for the local youth and community. It will provide 500 square metres of space for public and private events, meetings and offices.

Whitfield Food Club Secretary, Eve Hodgetts-Haley, told us, "This is a great day. It's been quite a rollercoaster ride to get here. Even 10 days ago, the whole project was in doubt. But now we're here with the keys to the building. The next job is to get the centre to thrive. We need clubs, societies, weddings, wakes and celebrations hiring the space as soon and as often as possible so that we can pay the bills. We need volunteers to help us hold events and run the building and people to continue donating and raising money. We only went ahead with this crazy project because we are confident the Whitfield Community will come together and make this work.

Treasurer Gerry Dominey said the first job is to give the centre a fresh coat of paint and are looking for help from the local community for support. If you can help in any way, please give Gerry a call on 07739 874 698 or connect via Facebook 

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