A community hub near Kendal is celebrating its first anniversary after a £250,000 fundraising campaign transformed the venue into a base for local groups, businesses and community activity.
Crosscrake Community Hub was established as a charitable initiative designed to improve health and reduce rural social isolation. Since opening, the venue has been used for fitness classes, hobby groups, parties and weddings.
A venue for community and business
The hub is the rehearsal home of Kendal-based Amabile Choirs and hosts a weekly coffee morning every Tuesday at 10am. The coffee morning supports local causes, while organisations including Cumbria Tourism and the National Trust use the building for corporate meetings.
Earlier this year, the venue hosted more than 30 senior figures for the Lake District Business Task Force, highlighting its role as a space for business as well as community activities.
New lighting improves evening access
The building has recently received new external floodlighting. The work was funded by a grant from Westmorland and Furness Council’s Community Fund and is intended to improve accessibility for groups using the hub in the evening.
Peter Frost-Pennington, independent chair of the task force, said residents initially raised £70,000 before grants increased the total raised to £250,000.
“Crosscrake Community Hub is a really adaptable space for bringing people together and has been a great addition for supporting and connecting local businesses and communities over the past year. “Cumbria Tourism has thoroughly enjoyed using these fantastic facilities for our training workshops.”
The comment came from Gill Haigh, managing director of Cumbria Tourism, who said the organisation had used the facilities for training workshops.