The launch of a new community hub, placing public and community services under one roof in the heart of Heathfield, could be the way forward for other Wealden communities.—Wealden District Council, 18 April 2016
“With so many services now provided online, clicks and screens are seen as the way forward rather than expensive bricks and mortar,” said Councillor Nick Collinson, Wealden District Council’s Cabinet member for Community Leadership.
“Community Hubs, like Heathfield’s, provide internet access to public services, and they also try to make sure there will be someone around who can lend a hand if a person is not confident about using a computer.”
“With such an impressive range of services available via the internet, Wealden District Council has created a special Heathfield Community homepage for the computer at the Heathfield Community Hub to help local residents easily identify all the widely-used services that are now available online.
“This kind of fruitful co-operation between partner organisations is the key to making sense of what can be an all too confusing modern world, and I hope we can get involved with other Wealden communities who want to be better connected.”
The Heathfield Community hub was launched early this month and has been described as “an exciting step forward for the people of Heathfield, Waldron and the surrounding villages,” by the chairman of the Parish Council. Councillor Andy Woolley.
“As well as providing access to information about the wide range of services provided by the Parish Council, Wealden District Council and East Sussex County Council, it also creates a physical Hub for local voluntary organisations, providing a new Heathfield & District Volunteer Centre to raise awareness about voluntary services and encourage more volunteers to get involved,” he said.
“The Volunteer Centre will be an integral part of the Community Hub, with initial input from Age Concern, Age UK, Red Cross and Action in Rural Sussex, backed by widespread support from the Heathfield Community Forum. But most of all, it is our community’s Hub, so we want to hear from everyone about other services and information you would like to see represented.”
Already regular sessions taking place at the Heathfield’s Hub include Citizens Advice Bureau outreach on Friday mornings from 10.00 – 12.00 and the Volunteer Centre on Thursday afternoons from 13.00 – 15.00 and Monday mornings from 10.00 – 12.00. It will also be able to host Police Community Support Officer street meetings and the Winter Warmth Campaign events.
A key facet of the Community Hub is the public computer in the reception area. It will provide links to local organisations as well as a general search facility. Information can be printed out for a small charge. In future there are plans to provide one-to-one advice by appointment over a video-link such as meetings with Wealden District Council officers to cover planning queries.
The roots of Heathfield Community Hub date back to 2013 when the Wealden Strategic Partnership received £10,000 from the Department for Communities & Local Government to find ways to help local people in rural areas access the services they need.
Through the Wealden Strategic Partnership’s Our Place project, a number of different organisations began to identify how the needs and wishes of rural communities could be better catered for on the ground. Heathfield & Waldron Parish Council became involved early on in the process. With the Parish Council’s leadership, the Hub is being seen as a flagship for what could be achieved across Wealden and East Sussex.
The Heathfield Community Hub was officially opened on Saturday 9 April by local MP Huw Merriman, with speeches from Parish Council Chairman Cllr Andy Woolley, Wealden District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Community Leadership, Cllr Nick Collinson and Bill Philps (√) joint chairman of Age Concern and member of the Heathfield and District Volunteer Centre .
