Meet the groups looking for new homes as Stratford community hub prepares to close
A SENSE of dismay, sadness and disbelief is mixed with a sense of determination among the charities and groups that have pledged to work together in the search for new homes after the announcement that Foundation House is to close.
The people who use the community hub in Masons Road, Stratford, say they find it depressing to contemplate the loss of Foundation House, which shuts on 21st June.
As reported by the Herald last week, the building is home to 12 groups brought together under one roof in an initiative launched by Stratford Town Trust in 2018.
But that will end and they will all need to move out after the landlords invoked a break clause in the lease, giving the trust notice to quit – the site will be redeveloped.
The need to find new homes has left some members of the charities and groups concerned for the future, as they told the Herald on Monday (27th March).
Sarah Plowright, Foundation House deputy manager and director of Stratford Youth Theatre, said: “Dismay, sadness and disbelief – it feels like an impossible task to do by 21st June. You can clearly see how busy this place is. It’s a massive resource for Stratford and we’re all part of a big team, we’ve become a family.
“It’s a really useful building and feels like a community meeting hall.
“When the youth theatre put on their recent production The Clopton Ghosts some of the rehearsals took place here at Foundation House.”
The advantages of the current site will be difficult to match, with disability access, warm hubs, a bus service and a location not too far from the town centre.
The loss of the building underlines the need for a new community hub in Stratford.
Matt Goodman, who is member of Men’s Shed, which helps reduce loneliness and isolation, questioned the impact the loss Foundation House will have on the district and county councils.
“If there’s no community aspect like a hub, it will cost the district council and county council as they do have a social responsibility to the community,” he said. “This is not about Zoom, it’s about relationships; people are physically meeting each other and helping each other when they come to the hub.”
The closure impacts all age groups.
Aaron Bixley, who is also a director of Stratford Youth Theatre, said: “Community hubs create a better adjusted society. There’s less crime and youngsters care about their space where they can meet one another.”
Sara Aspley, trust chief executive, added: “The hub is open to the wider community and is flexible. It is also open to a wide ranging and diverse group of people with different cultural backgrounds, including the youth and people with dementia. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
Offers for help in finding new homes for the charities have already emerged. Jed McCrory, chairman of Stratford Town Football Club, is understood to have offered space to the charities and groups at the football club’s Knights Lane ground in Tiddington. The facilities are modern and spacious, and providing a roof for charities is in-keeping with its commitment to be a community club.
Welcombe Radio is considering offers to broadcast from people’s houses. Nevertheless, the notice of the closure of Foundation House came as a body blow as presenter Keith Wedgbury explained.
“It was a shock. We knew it might have to happen in two years’ time – perhaps. But we didn’t realise what a great asset and truly ground-breaking idea Foundation House is. For small charities it provides free car parking, security, toilets, tea and coffee, meeting facilities, storage, help with electricity and lighting costs, fertilisation with other groups and the management is always on site for problems.
“It’s a really good idea by Stratford Town Trust - record-breaking and really thoughtful. A real asset to the voluntary sector of Stratford and district.”
But finding a new home will be more difficult for the groups like Men’s Shed - because of the woodworking tools and equipment they use, they need space.
Founded in 2012, it became a charity in 2017 and its remit is to look after the physical and mental health of men over 50 through creative carpentry.
Chairman Barry Thorne told the Herald: “Our situation is unique within the whole building at Foundation House because we can’t fit into an office. It would take days, if not weeks, to pack everything away. People come to the shed for the one-to-one interaction. Some people come to have a chat, some to play with wood – both men and women – and it helps prevent loneliness.”
Set up 25 years ago to support and train people caring for older people in the community, Warwickshire Reminiscence Action (WRAP) is another charity which will have to consider carefully where its next move will be, even if it’s temporary.
Mike Strophair, WRAP voluntary community secretary, said: “We have dozens of memory boxes in our library which are used to re-create a theme so that carers and those living with dementia can revisit their fond memories. It could be seaside holidays, horses and riding and we have a lot of memories about Queen Elizabeth which people love. We have a 20ft steel container outside which now needs to be found a new home. The date has been announced and now time is at a premium.”
While the trust is looking at having some activities at Venture House, it wants to hear from anyone who can accommodate a group or has ideas about where a hub could be located in Stratford.
Email Fran Nibbs at fran.nibbs@foundationhouse.co.uk.
