About the Transition Hub
In June 2008, PEDAL received a grant of just under £10,000 from the Big Lottery Fund to research local needs and aspirations, and to explore how we could help meet these through the ownership and development of local assets. We used some of this money to run a series of local consultations during September and October 2008.
A key finding was that there is a strong need for more modern, flexible, attractive, and user-friendly space for local groups to meet in and to develop and run their own initiatives from. Some of the more specific things people wanted include:
- A community cinema
- Dedicated space(s) for children and young people
- More space for performances – music, theatre, etc.
- A music recording and production studio
- A physical space where people can find out more about local groups and activities they can get involved in
- A place where people can find out how to make practical changes to their lifestyle that reduce their impact on the environment
The ideas that came out of this research were distilled into a plan for a multi-purpose community building, which would also act as a demonstration of good practice in environmentally responsible building. We named this concept the ‘Transition Hub’. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we didn’t secure funding for the next stage of developing the Transition Hub.
However, we don’t think all this hard work has been completely in vain — going through the process has helped us to develop as an organisation, we’ve learnt a lot about what local people want, and about how to approach and plan for a project of this kind. We’ve also made positive contact with other local groups and businesses.
We remain committed to helping secure modern, available, flexible space for local groups that is built to high environmental standards, and we want to work with others to make this happen. In fact, we’ve just been approached by the Community Centre Management Committee to feed into their plans for re-developing the centre.
The 2008 – 9 Transition Hub vision in detail (for future reference!)
