Cumbria

Arnside Educational Institute

Building a future

Arnside Educational Institute's vice chair, Jon Race, joined the committee in 2019. The space offers a range of facilities and event spaces for the community to deliver access to sports, education and events. To ensure the longevity of the building, Jon and the other committee members had to take on a large project: Replacing the old, leaking roof.

Jon Race, Vice Chair of Arnside Educational Institute, explains more: 

Protecting a community asset

The Community Spaces Partnership connects ideas to action by providing access to funding for bigger projects. In Arnside this meant:

  • Replacing the roof on a large building
  • Stopping leaks to make the hall drier and warmer
  • Installing solar panels for a resilient energy supply
  • Adding bird nesting boxes under the eaves to give back to nature

Community impacts

Improvements to the space through the Community Spaces Partnership funding have benefitted the local community:

  • Offering English lessons in the hall to refugees living in the village
  • Bringing people together at Arnside EI's community café
  • Providing a warm space to host bridge clubs and stitching groups for older community members
  • Housing the local library
  • The hall houses spaces for badminton, snooker, meetings and events

Future plans

​The committee at Arnside Educational Institute aim to keep the hall functioning as a facility for the village, by upgrading their booking system and offering more activities and events.

A sub-committee has also been implemented to look at how the hall's garden and courtyard can be bee friendly, to improve biodiversity.

Following some final checks on the roof, the committee plans to install new insulation in the loft space to keep the hall warm and energy efficient. 

 

Jon said:

"​The amount of money we needed to do the roof was putting us in a difficult situation [...] Now we have an amazing facility for the village."

How ACTion with Communities in Cumbria helped

​ACTion with Communities in Cumbria (ACT) helped to prepare the hall for funding by advising on Hallmark accreditation, policies and governance. ACT signposted the committee to funding, and was in regular contact to offer advice and support.

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