PLANS for a new community hub, which could be located in the former ArtHouse café in the Market Place, are cautiously moving forward.
Melksham Town Council, who are behind the project, has agreed to continue researching the idea, but defer any decision to commit to opening a hub due to the “uncertain time we are in.”
At the town council’s community development meeting last week, community development office, Miriam Zaccarelli said, “While there is a lot of interest and enthusiasm for setting up a community hub, there are quite a lot of unknowns at the moment – with Covid and with what the town and residents will be needing post-Covid.
“So there’s more information that could be gathered before launching into quite a complex and expensive project.”
Work will continue by the town council to collect information on community groups, services, venues, activities and events in the area, with the aim of producing an online community hub, that could be used and promoted by existing providers of information in the town, such as the Town Hall or the tourist information centre.
Discussions about using the ArtHouse Café as a community hub began in September last year, following the announcement of its permanent closure in July.
Its potential as a hub was described as a “massive opportunity” for the town council to create something for the whole community.
Ideas included using it as a “multi-functional” space housing a community hub, café, art gallery, and a tourist information desk.
A report discussed by councillors last week said that the “most frequent” suggestions from town council staff and councillors were to use the former café for an information centre and as a space for groups to hire.
A decision about opening a ‘physical’ community hub has been deferred until May, where it will be discussed by the ‘new’ Melksham Town Council, who will be elected on 6th May.
