Case Study: Ashfield

Advancing Assets for Ashfield sought to progress two potential asset transfers, following publication of its Community Asset Transfer strategy (2007) – Acacia Avenue Community Centre and the Teversal Manor Rooms in Teversal Village.

Acacia Avenue

The Acacia Avenue Community Centre is located at the heart of a disadvantaged housing estate in Ashfield, West Nottinghamshire – an area whose economy was hard hit by the closure of the pits and the loss of manufacturing during the 1980s, leaving a predominantly low wage / low skill economy and high levels of economic inactivity. It comprises a large meeting, kitchen and storage space and was originally designed to a ‘vandal proof’ specification - having windows in a roof well, rather than in the outside walls. A sizeable car park adjoins the facility. Over the years the centre has been used by broad-ranging community groups. More recently, however, the facility has become under-utilised. Reasons include poor acoustics in the main hall; the lack of a suitable meeting space for smaller groups; and problems associated with vandalism, graffiti and anti-social behaviour, which have increased despite counter measures having been put in place.

In 1993 Ashfield Community Radio and Media Training (ACRMT) opted to locate itself beside the centre, operating from a portable building to provide occasional broadcasts and training activities. The Local Authority sought a suitable partner with whom it might work to tackle the problems facing the Centre, and although it had confidence in the acumen of the ACRMT as a social enterprise, expressed concern in the absence of an established community-led group benefiting from a related track record. It wanted nonetheless to stimulate local community interest in and support for the Community Centre, and it therefore proposed to harness the drive of the social enterprise to develop a new community anchor – the intention being to meet local needs and aspirations, as well as empowering and enhancing the confidence of the community to deliver new initiatives.

ACRMT is on its own journey to change and develop – seeking to add community centre management to its existing offer of radio broadcasts and training activities in the drive to become a sustainable community anchor. The organisation was in the process of re-forming and re-launching its training operation as ‘Skills and More’ whilst the programme supported work in the locale. Alongside ACRMT a group comprising Centre users and local people was to be developed to ‘hold’ the local interest in and support for the centre.

Two community consultation events and young people’s surveys were undertaken by the Acacia Development Group, a partnership of local people, ADC and Groundwork Trust officers. They identified a need for multi-purpose rooms from which a wide variety of activities might be delivered - whether catering for an aging local population desiring support to develop recreational activities, or a younger generation who feel they lack access to leisure activities of interest to them. The results of the consultation exercise underpinned a successful application to the Big Lottery Fund’s Community Assets Programme - calling for investment to refurbish the Centre to create a more modern and flexible space, including meeting rooms and offices. ACRMT aims to operate from the refurbished Centre – extending the community activities already on offer in line with the priorities identified through the consultation exercise.

The refurbished Centre is set to re-open in early 2010 and will provide an accessible range of facilities for community activities as well as a central information point. In the first year after the Centre re-opens there will be a range of pilot activities to identify local needs and determine a future activity plan – the intention being to empower the community to determine the shape of the Centre’s service offer for the foreseeable future in keeping with the underlying spirit of community asset transfer.

Teversal Manor Rooms

Teversal is a small village in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, located 3 miles west of Mansfield close to the Derbyshire border.

The building now known as the Teversal Manor Room probably originated as a tithe barn. Back in 1840, William Marshall was leasing this barn building from the Carnarvan Estate. Within the next 40 years, and certainly by the time of a recorded visit by the 4th Earl of Canarvan in 1878, the building was functioning as the village school. It continued in this role until 1906, when the school moved into purpose-built accommodation in what is now as the Old School House

The Building continued to be used for numerous village activities, including a lending library, choir practice, public lectures and meeting room for Band of Hope and Band of Mercy, and eventually became known as the Manor Room. Some school activities did continue, however, including school plays, school medicals and some teaching during periods when local resources were stretched - as happened with an influx of refugee children from Birmingham during WWII or in response to the post-war bulge in population. The room was presented to the Teversal Parish Council in 1929 by the Carnarvan Family and then progressed via Sutton Urban District Council to the ownership of Ashfield District Council.

Over the years, many village functions took place there including harvest suppers, wedding receptions and public meetings, but structural deterioration and lack of resources for maintenance led to closure in 2001 for health and safety reasons. Following a period of fundraising by the Friends of Teversal, significant refurbishment funding was obtained from the Lottery and the District Council and the building was reopened in 2008. 

There was interest from the Friends of Teversal in taking over the running of the building from the Council, but there were concerns about financial viability and organisational sustainability. Business plan support was offered to the group to help them look at the market and marketing of the centre. The immediate issues was whether there were enough people willing to share the load to take the next step. Volunteer input was needed to organise the bookings and oversee the Terversal offer. The proposal outlined a way of developing the business, although it remains marginal. The objective is to generate the income to cover the booking administration and coordination. After some reflection time the village – in reality the Friends of Teversal Association and Teversal Heritage Group – decided to take on the centre management for a trial period.  They have signed a 10 year lease with a 6 month 'get out' clause and some subsidy in the short term to stimulate establishment of the business.

Useful Links:

Ashfield District Council - http://www.ashfield-dc.gov.uk/ccm/portal/ 
Teversal Manor Rooms -  http://teversal-village.org/ManorBookings.htm