Chirnside Community Centre

Caroline Underhill, Secretary

Scottish Borders

https://www.chirnsidedevelopment.org.uk

Tell us about your village hall

I've been secretary for more than 10 years. I started with the community centre when we came to live here, 16 years ago. Our group set about fund raising and planning the refurbishment which eventually got underway and was started in 2013 and completed in 2015 and I was mostly involved in the fundraising for that, after our previous Secretary had started with a large application from The Big Lottery Fund. I then completed the fundraising bids and then we were off! We had by then become a Trust. I'm still the secretary and a trustee.

The centre was a church, which then became a community centre run by Scottish Borders Council (SBC), with a community worker. That then fell by the wayside, and it was either, let that building fall down, or renovate the present building. SBC offered us a lease for just £1 and helped us with understanding the process we had to go through. We managed to raise £350,000. We shut for 18 months and made 2 rooms downstairs and one large function room upstairs, in what was the old roof space, making it more commercial. The old room to one side (a previous old extension) was made into toilets and a utility room and store and a lift to new upper floor. But it is an old building and we maintain it as best we can.

The one thing that we are mindful of is the roof - we do try to keep money for maintaining that. We'd had new double-glazed windows, sound panels and insulation put in in the last couple of years. We had to fund raise for that. It's an ongoing process of us trying to make it user friendly, plus economical to run.

It's difficult to keep the character of an old building. It does cost. Like the stained-glass windows at the moment are quite open and smashed, we've got someone who would fix them but we can't find the funding.

What is a typical week like in your hall?

The Community Centre Larder is open on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Run by volunteers (a wonderful group of folk who give up a lot of their time for it). The cost-of-living crisis means we've got upwards of forty families using the larder. We have community lunches, warm hubs, and pop-up cafes and these activities are put on by our volunteers to help sustain people facing economic problems within the village.

We have facilities for events, weddings, funerals, parties, dances, craft fayres, music groups and a church use the function room every Sunday for services. Then there are art classes running on a Tuesday. We have book binding on a Friday, Brownies during term time. We have yoga and hula-hoop classes, private dance practice and band group practice. We also have tabletop sales once a month to help us with our running costs. Most Saturdays are busy with Coffee Mornings for fundraising by various groups in the village. And on Saturdays the downstairs is used for children's parties, the room is big enough to have a bouncy castle. And we always put on a ceilidh at New year.

I started an IT group with help from the Borders Housing Association which was giving out tablets to people. Now I've got ten folk wanting help, there's only me and one volunteer but we help folk at any level and have lots of fun too.

Who keeps things running?

We've got ten trustees that meet once a month and we discuss how we deal with any problems, do bookkeeping and what we can put on for the village in general. Report on finances etc. After covid, we had lots of volunteers because people were out of work and keen to get involved. They are slowly dropping off. It makes it a bit difficult because most of the volunteers are elderly. The biggest hurdle we have is trying to find young folks to come and join us, thinking about the future.

When we were planning the renovation, we thrived from visiting other groups and halls that had been through the same process. People came over to see us too. They were just community volunteers like ourselves who were interested in really giving us an idea and guiding us through the problems we had. Now we have plenty of knowledge so that we could guide people too and or make suggestions.

What is your top tip for other village and community halls?

Be aware of what people want, ask what they need or would like. Get people involved. Plenty of patience! Don’t expect to be noticed or praised but be willing to just get on with it, for the common good. If you can get a body of people who can work together, a happy band can keep each other going.