Stanwix Community Association is Fading Fast.. Time to Get Your Fingers Out Folks!

After an ambitious year of trying to coordinate the rebuilding of the hut managed by Stanwix Community Association (SCA), I think it would be safe to say we have failed due to a lack of support from the community we serve.

At our monthly meetings, if we are lucky, perhaps half a dozen people turn up to manage a complex project that would have taxed a full time professional team. Our aim was to rebuild the two huts that serve as part of Stanwix’ community hub; alongside St. Michael’s Church and Stanwix School.

Tottering Near the Target? We Wish! Come on Stanwix.

We had a target of raising something over £140,000 and when we tried to recruit “the community” into the fund raising efforts; for one reason or another, with a couple of notable exceptions, the response was a deafening silence. I sometimes wonder if Stanwix deserves the effort of the small group who have tried their hardest to steer this project to a conclusion.

I understand that there are a variety of reasons why it is not easy to contribute to the often painfully tedious committee meetings and odd jobs that need doing. We are all busy – we are all bringing up families who need our attention. We are all absolutely knackered after a day at work or trying to find work or trying to keep our businesses afloat in the current financial crap storm.

Here’s the thing. The Playgroup and the Allsorts after school club both need the availability of two huts to remain viable for a whole raft of different legislative reasons. The Stanwix Community Association was formed to manage the site upon which the two huts were situated; once the primary school no longer needed the space.

Children’s services have funding available which could be pulled away in the blink of an eye, if we do not get started, which is specifically targetted to bringing up to standard, the hut that is Playgroup’s main base. In the discussions that took place around the project it was agreed that, within the available budget, we would be able to include a porch area.

A few calculations showed that it was feasible to extend the project to replacing both huts if the SCA were able to raise funds of approximately £140,000. This seemed like a crazy target, BUT with certain funding bodies and large businesses involved, it was an attainable target, if the community at large was behind us. Let’s face it, those huts were temporary 50 years ago!! As this video from last year points out!!
<a href=”http://www.youtube.com/user/Cosmicraymondo?feature=mhum#p/u/13/KKB59a0jmv4>Rebuild The Huts</a>

All that’s needed is a few more bodies to take on the tasks that need doing. The SCA hasn’t had a proper secretary for over a year now since Emma Walton moved on: after keeping the plates in the air almost single handedly for a long time. I would like to thank both Emma and Caroline Hetherington who has managed to carry out part of Emma’s previous work for several months. Currently several of the Directors are making it clear that they NEED to leave. Our treasurer has come close to the end of his avowed 3 year stint dealing with the most tedious and onerous of the jobs of any committee and two of us need to concentrate on keeping our own affairs on track. The SCA needs fresh blood.

If you have young children within the Stanwix Community, who do YOU think is going to keep the SCA running so that the Playgroup and Allsorts can have premises close to Stanwix School? Are you simply going to leave it to those boring old B’s~|:#~s who are always there doing the boring cruddy jobs at the meetings or are you going to find some way top contribute and take on SOME of the communal responsibility for ensuring that the community site is managed effectively. The future of YOUR playgroup and YOUR afterschool group is in the balance at the moment.

Changing Community Association Plans

There is now no chance of rebuilding both huts in one efficient building project. The playgroup hut and the porch/connecting link should finally start in October. However there is nothing guaranteed even about that. In the longer term the Community hut has to be replaced once the children’s groups have moved back into their NEW accommodation. There are funds in the SCA bank accounts to start a separate renewal project and with the help of several local businesses and building firms, it is just possible we could see a facility that would do Stanwix and Carlisle proud. It just might show that there is actually a community in Stanwix.

It’s time to use it, love it and value it; or there is a real danger you could lose the community facilities in the heart of Stanwix. Any Stanwix ex-pats if you see this and you think you can help then contact us through the website!