We had a difficult set of decisions to make when one of our long-term tenants decided after COVID that they had to consolidate their activities into fewer locations. We know how hard it is for charities these days. And we were so pleased to help them with good premises, as they did, and still do, with young adults with profound disabilities. They just don’t do it here anymore.

And what seemed like a crisis of cash flow for us, we thought long and hard about. We decided that we would instead see the rooms they had been using as an opportunity to create a new children and families space. It would be a more flexible set of rooms that the lovely new hall we built 10 years ago. We could leave more of the children’s work up on display. It has its own toilets, kitchen and access to the re-designed garden that The Meeting Place have made.

We just had to swallow hard and work out how we could keep our finances on a level at the same time. But we have done.

And now we have taken the radical decision to re-name the rooms. It’s been called “The Lecture Room”, but as Derek, over 90, in the choir said, he’s never been to a lecture there in his lifetime. So its about time we did. We are calling the suite of rooms “The Space”. We hope that gives a more contemporary feel, and indicates that is is open to whatever we want it to be. We’ve got ideas!

And here is the paper that led to the changes if you want to download it.