Thank you so much to everyone who has completed our survey – we’ve had over 80 submitted so far which is an incredible response! The level of engagement, be it supportive Facebook posts, encouragement in person or taking time to complete the survey, is just amazing and we really appreciate it. Even more so given that all of your responses have been supportive of the idea. Who knew that we had so many live music fans in Kirk Hammerton?
If you haven’t submitted your response, please do so. Also spread the word to those in the local community who may not have heard!
We thought that it would be useful to answer a few of the comments and questions submitted, so far as we can!
Village hall
We love our village hall too and hope that this continues to thrive, and hopefully our centre could be beneficial to the village hall and vice versa. They are very different propositions, the village hall just isn’t big enough for many sporting activities, and the centre would have a café that people can pop to rather than need to book. We hope that both can work together and have a place in the village.
A59 access
The access down Station Road to the A59 is not great for walkers from KH – we agree. Whilst a pavement leading to the A59 would not be within the scope of our proposal, it is obviously something that would be good for all of us to push for and this project may even work to highlight the need. I know that the KH Parish Council has been pushing hard on this for years. I’ve separately written to our MP.
Site choice
We have this as our first-choice site for the following reasons:
- It is currently completely unused, and, even taking into account the poor footpath, it accessible and close to the village. The playing fields are under used, and we should continue to consider all options, but the parking and the playing field are both used at school drop off and pick up times every day.
- The centre must obviously be a commercially viable proposal, and as much as the centre would be focused on the benefit of the local community, it will also need passing trade, which its proposed location on the A59 would help. We hope to prioritise the local community with discounts/priority booking.
Dog friendly
We would like this too!
Financial viability
As stated above, it is essential that this is a financially viable project. We have been working on a business model for each of the different aspects of the project.
Funding
We have some seed funding but will need to fundraise to make this happen. We will be seeking grant funding from appropriate organisations (for example, National Lottery, People’s Postcode Lottery, ECB, LTA, community grants). The scale of the task is not underestimated – we just have to try and go for it!
Who will run it?
We intend to run it as a CIC – a not for profit community organisation which generates its own funding through running as a viable business. We hope we would be on the management board, amongst others who are interested in being involved – we will need help from the local community so all support welcome!
PicKHle 