MORE than 60 residents have volunteered for an ambitious community project that aims to turn a former chapel into a cafe, shop and heritage centre with even more signing up at an open evening last month.
The Cotherstone Old Chapel Project was launched in response to the closure of the village shop in July last year and the earlier loss of the village cafe.
The group has formed a community business society so they can move forward with funding plans. They have already secured a £6,700 grant from Power to Change and will be looking to tap into the Government’s new community ownership fund.
They hope to raise about £100,000 through a community shares scheme to ensure the project is financially viable before agreeing terms of a 25-year lease on the Methodist chapel.
A core management group has been set up with members in charge of areas including communications and public relations, finance, a building and the cafe.
Coinciding with the village’s fun weekend an open evening at the chapel provided residents, who hadn’t seen inside the building, the opportunity to take a look, see the proposed plans and offer their input.
Paul Hunt, who is leading the build team, said: “We want to be as inclusive as possible with not just the village but the wider community.
“We put the call out and I’ve already had 17 people volunteer for the building project and they are all skilled people from engineers to fabricators. Our aim is to make the building warm and energy efficient.
“There is lots of excitement and positivity for the project and people are certainly not put off by the prospect of some hard work.”
Anyone who is interested in getting involved with Cotherstone Old Chapel project or wish to share ideas should email info@cotherstoneold
chapel.co.uk.
