Community Building Strategy 2 March 2015 1 Introduction 1.1 1.1 Stockport Homes acquired the management of nine community buildings from Stockport Council in April 2014. These are central to neighbourhoods managed by Stockport Homes and its expertise in customer and community involvement means it is well placed to either develop them into more valuable community assets or, if this proved impossible, explore more productive uses for the sites. 1.2 The buildings are: • First House, Brinnington; • Brinnington Community Centre; • Brinnington Young Persons Centre; • Bridgehall Community Centre; • Offerton Community Centre; • Adswood Community Centre; • Lancashire Hill Community Centre; • Heaton Norris Community Centre; and • Arthur Greenwood Centre. Three are in very close proximity to one another in Brinnington. A map showing the location of all of these building can be found at Appendix 1 1.3 Stockport Homes’ Community Buildings Strategy sets out plans for these community buildings. Its ambition is for them to be a hub of activity that meet the needs of local people, with an emphasis on increasing social cohesion and neighbourhood sustainability. 2 Community Buildings Strategy - 2 March 2015 2 Context 2.1 Community buildings play a key role in strengthening communities. They often represent the only public place where a wide range of people can engage in activities with their neighbours. The opportunity for people to become involved in the management and running of community buildings can also lead to a greater sense of pride in, and responsibility for, their local communities. 2.2 These buildings differ significantly from one another in terms of size and facilities. Usage also varies, with some hosting a range of clubs and activities and others providing a base for agencies delivering services, including libraries and housing. Stockport Homes put in place a marketing strategy when it took over these buildings and usage of each began to increase immediately. All centres, however, still have significant scope for increased and more varied use by local people. 1 Heaton Norris Pavilion, 2.3 Three of the buildings are run by voluntary management committees(1) Adswood which manage their own bookings, retaining any income they generate. Community Centre and One pays annual rent which contributes to running costs but the Brinnington remaining two do not and management agreements are outdated. Work Community Centre is on-going with each of the committees to put effective agreements in place and to negotiate realistic rents. Income is earned on the remaining six buildings by letting space to other agencies and groups. 2.4 There is no evidence that any planned maintenance has taken place on these buildings for several years and the condition of some is poor. The projected costs of carrying out works to bring them up to and maintain them at an acceptable standard are contained in initial assessments at Appendix 2. The total potential cost of the investment required over the next thirty years is £750,000, which includes both major work on buildings in the poorest condition and smaller scale works on all of them. It will be 2 Brinnington necessary to discuss the future of at least three(2) of the buildings with the Youth Centre, Brinnington Council and to identify funds to carry out major works if a decision is made Community to retain them. Centre, Arthur Greenwood Centre 2.5 These initial assessments focus on asset management issues because the data obtained from the Council provides only a limited picture of historical 3 For example, it can provide use(3). Once Stockport Homes has a track record in managing the Centres it income information but will be better placed to develop comprehensive Business Plans. These will not details about be developed over the next three years for each of the Centres which are bookings retained and will take into account factors such as analysis of the success of marketing campaigns and the outcomes of investment in partnership and community development work in each Centre. Community Buildings Strategy - 2 March 2015 3 3 Listening to local views 3.1 In August 2014 Stockport Homes held engagement events in each community building. This provided an opportunity to consult local people and building user groups about what they wanted from their community buildings. Feedback indicates that there is demand for the centres to be retained and the most popular activities are social, health and well- being related. There was also a lot of support for children’s activities and training. 3.2 Stockport Homes is acting on this feedback in each Centre. In some cases, this is taking the form of working with the Management Committee and volunteers and in others it involves working with partner agencies to develop programmes of activities which meet demand. 4 Working with partners 4.1 Stockport Homes uses its skills and strong position in the neighbourhoods where it works to collaborate with other agencies. This includes other housing providers, external agencies and public sector organisations. Its most significant partnership is with Stockport Council. The Council is moving increasingly towards an enabling role, seeking to invest its limited resources as effectively as possible by looking towards partners to pool resources and facilitate new ways of delivering services. 4.2 The Council and Stockport Homes recognise that community buildings play a vital role in maintaining the health and well-being of local communities and should not be considered in isolation in terms of whether they can be self-sustaining. Successful community buildings will be those which meet local needs and play a role in delivering Borough-wide objectives and successful outcomes across a range of partnerships. 4 Community Buildings Strategy - 2 March 2015 5 Vision for community buildings 5.1 Stockport Homes’ vision for the future of community buildings is in line with its mission to ‘Transform Lives’: “Buildings that are open to the community and a focus for neighbourhood activity, providing a range of locally based social, recreational, cultural and educational activities, as well as volunteering opportunities” 5.2 This dovetails with the Council’s overarching vision for the Borough, as summarised in ‘Investing in Stockport 2015-2020’. This establishes a vision for the deployment of public resources in the Borough which business and community leaders can support. It focuses on investing in economic and demographic growth and in the reform of public services and its desired outcomes are: • People are able to make informed choices and look after themselves; • People who need support get it; • Communities in Stockport are safe and resilient; • Stockport benefits from a thriving economy; and • Stockport is a place where people want to live. 5.3 Community buildings can contribute to these outcomes in a number of ways: • providing a range of social activities that help reduce social isolation, narrowing the gap between neighbourhoods in terms of life chances and building the resilience of individuals; • providing a range of health and wellbeing activities that contribute to reduced reliance on other services; • acting as a permanent or temporary base for the delivery of services, advice and guidance that benefit the community at the right time; • enhancing economic wellbeing through community projects that support digital inclusion, employment and training, business start-up and social enterprise; and • providing a range of activities that promote community cohesion, empower local people to be engaged in local decision making and projects and enhance community pride. In view of the investment required to give some of these building a sustainable future, there may be circumstances in which they become unviable and Stockport Homes approaches the Council with closure proposals. For example, if: • the building is no longer structurally sound; • the investment required to comply with legal regulations places an unreasonable burden on the Management Committee or Stockport Homes; or • there is over provision of services in an area or extensive attempts to increase usage have failed and retention of the facility does not represent good use of public money. Community Buildings Strategy - 2 March 2015 5 6 Strategic objectives 6.1 Objective 1 – To embed community buildings at the heart of strong and vibrant communities • Ensure community buildings are safe, clean, accessible, inclusive and welcoming places; • Provide opportunities for local people to get involved in running centres; • Support the delivery of a broad range of community activities in each centre; • Facilitate the use of community buildings as bases for the delivery of services that meet the needs of communities; and • Deliver initiatives that contribute to the delivery of the Stockport Homes Social Inclusion Strategy. • Work effectively with partner agencies and other members of the Council family of companies to maximise the benefits their services can offer if they are delivered from these buildings 6.2 Objective 2 – To optimise the impact of resources • Prioritise investment in those community buildings that are of most benefit to their neighbourhoods and consider closure in cases of non-viability; • Work with funders and partners to pool resources and maximise the potential funding available to social enterprises and other groups that use community buildings; • Implement plans that optimise value for money, including by increasing energy efficiency in buildings and reducing other costs; • Implement marketing plans that increase and vary usage; • Ensure community buildings support wider objectives, such as new build or regeneration schemes; and • Align plans for each building with any neighbourhood master plans and Stockport Homes’ Asset Development Plan. 6.3 Objective 3 – To support dedicated volunteers • Ensure Management Committees have access to comprehensive information, advice, training and funding opportunities to help them run their centres effectively; and • Work with community leaders in areas without Management Committees to encourage them to take responsibility for managing their centres. An action plan to support this Strategy can be found in Appendix 3.