Work begins on new £2m Community Hub

Construction is about to begin on a brand new Community Hub for Topsham, one of the area’s most important buildings of recent years - and the organisation behind it is seeking volunteers to help champion its work and plan how it will develop.

The new hub, being built on the site of the former ‘pre-fab’ Topsham library, aims to be the pride of the local community.

It will be the base for many of the services provided by the Estuary League of Friends, a long-standing and much-loved charity serving the town and communities stretching from Countess Wear to Exmouth.

The purpose-built Hub will have a day room, community cafe and kitchens, exercise and fitness room, a laundry, serviced offices and much-improved library facilities, and should be open by summer 2018.

Construction will cost around £2m, raised entirely by Estuary League of Friends from the Big Lottery Fund, grant-giving bodies and the community.

“It’s incredibly exciting that work is starting at last. We’ll be able to provide better services for our clients than ever before, and create a new facility for the community to use too” explains Estuary chief executive Rachel Gilpin.

Now Estuary is looking for volunteers to join the Hub’s board of trustees. They will steer the building’s work through a special Community Interest Company, a not-for-profit body set up to have an overview of the building, the volunteers who operate it and its users.

“We already have trustees overseeing the day-to-day work of the charity and its services, but now we want members of the community from Topsham, Exeter and east Devon who will be on the CIC to help set the priorities for the new building” explains Rachel.

“They’ll support the Hub manager who arrives next year, and develop strategy with the different groups and organisations using the building” explains Rachel.

Anyone with a passion for serving the community is welcome to discuss what is required with Rachel, who can be contacted on 01392 879009.

People who have organisational and managerial skills, who have experience of running community or commercial facilities, and those who are familiar with the area served by Estuary League of Friends are particularly encouraged to get in touch.

Work on the new building begins in mid-May and is expected to continue for a year.