It’s finally happening!

A group of determined Gamesley residents are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel after successfully fighting the closure of their much-loved community centre.

The building had been used as a community hub since the 1970’s, however in February 2024 Derbyshire County Council made the decision to permanently shut the centre in order to cut costs, and gave those that used it just four weeks closure notice.

Concerned about the huge negative impact this would have on local residents, specifically children and young people, a group of determined volunteers took action, forming a Charitable Incorporated Organisation in order to carry out a community asset transfer. They achieved this goal in October last year after months of uncertainty and administrative hurdles.

Now, with funding from the National Lottery, the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity fund and a Crowdfund initiative that has raised nearly £30,000, necessary work has now finally begun to update the building after years of under-investment. A new roof is being provided by local company Roof Right MCR, and AO.com have generously donated all the electrical equipment for the kitchen. The centre already has a lift and soon a ramp will be added making it fully accessible.

Sharing their plans to continually self-fund the centre, Trustee and Move More Glossop Lead Helen Thornhill said “The money will come in from people using the space. We’ve got small and large offices, a training room, a sports hall, an activity room and the cafe area. Once everything is renovated, it'll be a desirable space to hire and will bring revenue in. We also want businesses to sponsor particular rooms, such as a computing or gaming room, an arts and crafts studio and a yoga wellbeing space. We've got lots of space that can be adapted and flexibly used, it just needs a little bit of sprucing up”

Helen encourages individuals and local businesses to come and take a look at the facility as it takes shape, “We're currently looking for people to come in and donate their time. People with skills that can help with the maintenance of the building. Just pop down, we're open most days so you can come in and have a look to see what we're doing.”

The necessity of the centre has already been proven, as despite renovation work currently taking place throughout, several groups are already regularly using the space six days a week. The Police, social workers, sexual health team and Derbyshire Live Life Better use several offices, and each day from 1-3pm volunteers run a warm hub for people to enjoy refreshments and social interaction.

Helen said “We’ve also already started things like basketball, athletics and a youth club for local young people. We want it to be their space, somewhere they can come and feel like they own it. Like an extension of their homes, because there's nowhere else like that left on the estate.”

“We’re aiming on having drama classes and also big events, like on a Saturday night we will get bands to come in and will have decent food as we're going to have a lovely café area. There’s also a professional kitchen space where we're going to be inviting local people in to learn kitchen skills.”

Local artists are being asked to submit their work to a competition to win a spot in the newly renovated café area. To fit in with the new colour scheme of green and heather, the group are looking for art that reflects the beautiful moorland that surrounds the centre. (See the poster for full details or add the details??)

It finally looks like the group’s vision of providing a ‘sustainable community centre focusing on improving physical and mental health’ is being realised. If you can donate or give time as a volunteer to help, please contact: helen@the-bureau.org.uk