It is with great pleasure that we can announce we have been successful in securing £730,000 from the Lottery to develop the Creetown Community Enterprise Centre!
This project has been four years in the making and after much hard work, it is coming to fruition. The ground floor of the centre will house an arts and crafts cooperative shop. In a nutshell, a group of artists and craft-makers will share the ground floor, taking it in turns to man the shop, whilst sharing the overheads. It is hoped that up to 20 artists and craft-makers will join the cooperative. If you are an artist or craft-maker and are interested in joining, please get in touch with Creetown Initiative.
The two upper floors will be a bunk-house. Cheap accommodation, aimed at mountain bikers, walkers and people doing other country pursuits. The idea is to tap into the market of people looking for no frills, cheap accommodation; people who are, at present, passing us by. The idea is that these people will use other village facilities, helping to support other local businesses and protect jobs. Indeed, some will come back and chose a more up market accommodation in the future; something we will actively promote. It’s about getting them here in the first place. 7 Stanes attracts 400,000 people a year; if we attract just 2% of those visitors that would mean 8,000 people who would potentially use the butchers, village store, garage, B&Bs, hotels, museums and other facilities. To the side of the premises the Cycle4life and Reuse Matters projects will be housed. This means that on site we will be able to offer bike hire and repairs, whilst the Reuse Matters project will, in time, generate income for community groups and projects; in essence this will be a charity shop/recycling initiative, and there will be a work/office space to let for anyone looking for small business premises.
There will also be a laundrette, primarily to serve the bunk-house, but this will be open to the public. Industrial washing machines means things like dog beds, duvets and other large items can be cleaned here in Creetown. The electric car will be stationed at the Barholm and there will be two charge points. People will be able to hire the electric car if they wish; another reason for people to stop in Creetown. This project will attract new visitors and will create jobs and help protect existing ones. It will revive a semi-derelict building which will help those that live and work close by. The Heritage Centre will also benefit via the additional footfall in the area, and will provide educational and learning opportunities. The next step is the tender process to choose a building company. This will take a few months, but hopefully this time next year the centre will be open.
