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| Last Updated: April 30, 2008 |
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| Carlisle CVS has recently merged with other CVS’s in the county to form Cumbria CVS. A new Cumbria CVS website is in the process of development and will be launched in the autumn. In the meantime information will still be provided by this site but will be transferred to the new site in due course. |
We want to improve the available workspace for voluntary and community organisations in Carlisle so that they can increase the impact that they have on people's lives and our community. Existing voluntary and community sector premises in the city are typically too expensive and unsuitable for their needs. The Carlisle 'hub' will address this by creating dedicated shared premises which allows groups to share costs and increase standards.
Background
Back to ContentsOver the last twenty years or so, in Carlisle, a range of voluntary organisations and Carlisle City Council have looked at the idea of creating a voluntary and community sector (VCS) 'hub' in Carlisle. For a variety of reasons none of the plans proposed progressed beyond the initial discussion stage.
During the devastating storms and floods in Cumbria (January 2005) Carlisle was particularly badly affected. This has provided a unique opportunity to progress plans for a 'hub' as part of Carlisle Renaissance’s 10-15 year regeneration plan.Government initiatives are urging greater efficiency and better quality service provision by voluntary/community groups and statutory agencies. Co-location could address some of these requirements. A meeting at Carlisle CVS (15 July 2005), brought together representatives from Carlisle City Council, voluntary organisations and other interested partners. There was a strong will to investigate available options and the feasibility of creating a VCS 'hub' in Carlisle. The feasibility study was required to take into account the size, location, accessibility and cost of potentially available premises alongside the varied needs of voluntary organisations and community groups who would wish to share the use, facilities and costs of such premises. Funding was obtained via a ChangeUp accessibility grant (administered by Cumbria Community Foundation on behalf of CACVS) for the feasibility study and James Murray from Hanson Consulting was appointed in November 2005.
Feasibility Study (Feb 2006)
Back to ContentsThe feasibility study considered a number of factors that will be critical to the development of the 'hub', including premises, funding, support, and sustainability.
Compared to other developments around the country the feasibility study indicated that the project should proceed.
- Demand for the project and tenancies appears strong
- Carlisle regeneration will depend in part on the voluntary and community sector's role within the development of sustainable mixed use clusters
- Development funding is likely to be available
- Organisations are typically willing to share a range of operational costs
- Capital funding may be more difficult to access to enable a full cost purchase on the open market,
- Premises availability and suitability are not high
Progress
Back to ContentsA list of around 50 organisations support the project and after successfully attracting further development funding for the project (from The Hadfield Trust, Awards for All and Cumbria County Council), a small working group was developed. James Murray has been assisting the working group to develop the business plan, marketing strategy and funding strategy. A powerpoint summary of the plan has also been produced. Carlisle Partnership has sent a letter of support for the project and details are included in the community plan for Carlisle 2007.
Download Powerpoint summary of plan105 Kb
Current Situation
Back to ContentsThe Carlisle Hub working group have been focused for the last 18 months on achieving this objective with particularly effort going into planning the development and raising our needs with stakeholders at the very highest levels within Cumbria. During this period we have:Over the last few months we have been particularly vociferous in highlighting the benefits of the Hub and the barriers we still face with many of the key leaders within the County and City Councils including Sean Reed (Cumbria County Council) Mike Michelson, Maggie Moony and Ian McNichol (Carlisle City Council). We have had some positive meetings with these and other key stakeholders but all parties recognise that when developing large scale initiatives such as this that it takes time and a combination of factors to come together to be successful.
- Raised development funding;
- Completed a feasibility study and concept project plan;
- Built a working group with a range of skill sets to drive forward proposals;
- Used expert professionals where required to underpin planning;
- Developed and distributed a leaflet which contains a summary of our plans;
- Engaged in Carlisle Economic Strategy development;
- Included the project as an objective in the Carlisle Community Plan;
- Developed a Carlisle Hub web site containing our proposals and plans;
- Assessed more than 10 potential properties;
- Aligned ourselves with Carlisle Renaissance developments; and
- Worked very closely with members of the Quakers who are currently considering developing a shared workspace in partnership with us.
At this point we feel that we must wait on a few opportunities to develop. With that in mind over the next 6 months the project working group will maintain a close interest in these opportunities but will scale down the intensity of its efforts.
Spending our development funding wisely is also a factor, and we feel spreading out over a longer period is a prudent course of action.
Our best options for development of a shared space remain to:We are therefore recommending to the steering group that we temporarily halt further detailed investigations until the spring / summer of next year. We at Cumbria CVS will follow up existing opportunities in Carlisle, and continue to raise our requirements with various stakeholders but the working group will take a break from activities during this period.
- Purchase or lease an open market property for approximately £1m using grant funding(not yet secured);
- Work in partnership to purchase or lease a property developed by Carlisle Renaissance, or another 3rd party who has an interest in supporting our community aims; and
- Share space within Council owned property vacated or development under other initiatives.
Quotes
Back to Contents“…the legislation of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)requires that services and premises are accessible to everyone, whether they are employees, members of the public or volunteers... This [DDA] can, and has caused big problems for some organisations whose particular premises are old and were previously residential houses. They often have stepped entrances, no lift to the upper floor and no suitable WC facilities. These are big and expensive things to rectify and sometimes not even possible to achieve" - Carlisle Access
View external pictures of buildings
“The benefit to the community would be a day service providing rehabilitation and activities for local head injury sufferers, something which is sadly lacking in this area. Unfortunately there is no space available at the present time although we are still searching Carlisle”. - Headway North Cumbria
Useful Web Links
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Ethical Property Foundation
Contacts
Back to Contents
Lynne Hutchinson (Chief Officer)
Carlisle CVS
(01228) 518984
Email: enquiries@carlislecvs.org.uk
The Carlisle Hub development work is funded by The Hadfield Trust and
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