When a Methodist chapel in rural Teesdale was put up for sale, villagers banded together to repurpose it as a vibrant heart of their community. Five years on, they have succeeded, as NICKY CARTER reports
A COMMUNITY led scheme, five years in the making, came to fruition last month, when Cotherstone Old chapel turned from a project to a fully-fledged cafe and shop.
When the doors to the former Methodist church swung open on Wednesday, June 26, it was a momentous day for the team of dedicated volunteers who spearheaded the campaign to create the “community asset” .
An initial public meeting in September 2019 was held to gauge the level of support for a community-buyout of the former post office and shop, which had been on the market for several years.
Unfortunately, there was not sufficient support and the owners ultimately converted the property into a private residence – but the spark of an idea in the community was ignited.
It led to a second public meeting just three months later at which residents voted overwhelmingly in favour of creating their own community-run shop.
A steering group, set up to oversee the project, began investigating possible locations including the parish council-owned Hearse House, the village hall and the Methodist chapel, as well as taking guidance from organisations such as the Plunkett Foundation, which specialises in supporting community-run businesses.
Registering as Cotherstone Community Benefit Society in 2021 the group launched a month-long community share issue looking to raise £100,000 to make necessary changes to the Methodist chapel, but smashed the target by £13,000 with more than 270 people investing in the project and 70 people with a wide range of skills, registering as volunteers.
Although initially the intention had been to rent the chapel, when the building came up for sale, the decision was taken to raise the funds to purchase it outright to secure the future of the project.
While funding applications were made to a variety of different bodies, nine pop-up cafes were hosted in the chapel to provide momentum for the project, and to whet residents’ appetites of what was to come.
The building purchase was completed last summer thanks to grants totalling more than £180,000 from Teesdale Action Partnership, county councillors Ted Henderson and Richard Bell, Durham County Council and Cotherstone Parish Council.
Following the purchase, a team of 20 volunteers ran a pop-up shop in the chapel porch as the building refurbishment started. The endeavour raised enough funds to pay for an ice cream display freezer, drinks chiller and helped towards an electronic till system.
More willing volunteers worked alongside building contractors to knock the chapel into shape in record time, retaining as much of the original character as possible.
Manning the till in the newly opened shop last month, Chris Tarpey, treasurer of the management committee, said: “It is quite a momentous day and has been a long time in the making.”
He added: “Employment opportunities was one of the things from the start we wanted to give to local people, especially young people.
“We have one lad who is at sixth form, another who is at university and another who has just finished school and it’s great experience for them.”
“We had been in the church for a couple of weeks doing things and if the doors were open people asked if we’re open. If the coffee machine was one, we said come on in. The response from everyone, from the first soft opening weekend has been brilliant and we hope it continues now we are properly open.”
Cotherstone Old Chapel cafe, shop and heritage centre is open six days a week from 9am until 5pm Monday to Saturday, only closing on Tuesdays, and 10am until 3pm on Sundays.
Mr Tarpey said: “We have had such great support from the community throughout the project.
“We will be having another AGM soon. As the project is entering a new phase, we will be looking for volunteers – people who have experience in running a business to get involved.”
