Community Buildings

Download your FREE Campaign Pack for #VillageHallsWeek

Village Halls Week is a national campaign, shining a spotlight on the contribution England’s 10,000+ village halls make to rural communities. It is an opportunity for hall management committees to celebrate their work and get inspiration from others.

Become a Warm Space this Winter!

If your facility or group would like to host a warm space for anyone who will struggle to keep their heating on this Winter. Download our complete list of funding pots to support your warm space open.

Spark Somerset are working with community partners to develop a network and online directory of Warm Welcome spaces where people can find warmth, company and support amid the cost-of-living crisis.

Their team will support community groups and venues in Somerset to provide a Warm Welcome to everyone who might need it over the coming months.

This could include help with your policies and procedures, finding funding, recruiting volunteers or connecting you with other providers to share learning and ideas.

We’ve put together lots of useful information, including some of the practical things you may wish to consider.

For more information visit: www.sparksomerset.org.uk/warm-welcome

Hear from our members

It’s good to know that CCS is there to answer queries about procedure and legislation, vital to the day-to-day running of our hall.

Wendy Hobbs Committee Member

Become a Community Buildings Member

Membership includes:

• Friendly, independent and expert support for all your queries (first hour FREE).
• FREE access to OVER 90 specialist information sheets WORTH £680.
• Access to our private Facebook networking group
• Online access 24 hours a day in the ‘Members Only’ area of our website.
• Regular e-newsletters/bulletins
• FREE ENTRY into the nationally recognised Hallmark Quality Standard Scheme
• ££’s off training and events
• Full promotion and listing on our Community Building Locator.

Safeguarding Guidance

Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) has been awarded over £100k from the National Lottery Community Fund to promote good safeguarding practice to village and community halls throughout England.

CCS will be working to ensure that community hall management committees across Somerset have the knowledge and confidence to provide a safe environment for all.

CCS and ACRE have joined forces with the energy broker Utility Aid. Utility Aid is the largest energy broker for the not-for-profit sector in the UK, offering bespoke services for community buildings. Utility Aid have created this short video to explain how they can help halls reduce their running costs and how to sign up for their services.

Sally Sargent, Community Buildings Adviser

Sally has a professional background in community development, working across the UK and in Africa. Raising a family in a Somerset village, she understands the vital role that community buildings play in supporting residents and bringing people together. She is a trustee of her local village hall and runs a community biodiversity project. In her spare time, Sally also enjoys portrait photography and gardening.

Robert Horn, Community Buildings Adviser

Robert is passionate about supporting Village Halls and the community events that go on in them. Coming from a background in Building Surveying, he has been advising Village Halls in several counties for 15 years. He has been a trustee for his local village hall and now manages a small community centre on a part-time basis. A founding trustee and volunteer for a recreational charity, he also enjoys making music and messing about with old cars in his spare time.