Closed down community hubs for vulnerable people re-opened by former staff

Northampton legend Alan Moore has donated cash to the team to get the hubs up and running again.

By Sarah Ward

The community hub at Semilong Community Centre was closed suddenly this month. H Scott image.

Two Northampton community hubs closed at short notice this month will re-open after a redundant staff member has decided to start up again.

Users of the weekly community hubs in Semilong and Bellinge and Briars were left in the lurch this month after Community Spaces Northampton (CSN), which had been running the weekly sessions, put out a message on July 9 to say the hubs, which had been providing meals and support for vulnerable people in the community for a number of years, would close with immediate effect. The charity, which in 2010 took over the running of ten community centres, cited financial issues for the decision.

A sign posted on the community centre door. H Scott image.

Now the former community hub manager Jo Morris, who along with two other workers was told just hours before the public announcement and then put onto gardening leave, has started up the hubs in Semilong and Bellinge under her own steam, booking out the halls and helping residents once again. She has set up a community interest company to run things and apply for grants.

Donations have come in from the community, Billing Parish Council has also contributed and Northampton’s most famous resident comic book writer Alan Moore, has given a generous donation.

Jo with fellow staff Richenda and Emma. They will run the new service. (left to right)

Jo said:

“We are now paying to hire the hall and run things ourselves.

“For about half of our users, the hub was the only time they left the house each week. The only time they spoke to another person. A lot of people who came had been signposted to us by social prescribers or from counsellors.

“Quite a few people had made good friends and social groups. Every week we would speak to someone who had felt suicidal. Our hubs were able to offer support at a time when many are struggling. No-one has got anything anymore. I put out of date food gifted by the supermarkets outside my house and there is a queue for it.”

Jo, who is from Semilong, was approached by CSN to take on the role three years, after setting up a number of community initiatives in recent years. She says the way the ending of the hubs was handled was wrong.

She said herself and the two other hub staff were called to a meeting the day before the public announcement, but when she asked chair of the trustees Jessica Pilkington whether there was an agenda for the meeting, she was told there was nothing to worry about. Herself and two staff members were put on gardening leave after the meeting with trustee Martin Wheatley and prevented from contacting service users or volunteers.

She said:

“It was awful, terrible. We felt totally disregarded after having done so much for the local community. We were all aware that CNS was quite disorganised, but its heart was in the right place, but to do it like this is disgraceful. The service users had been left in the lurch completely.”

Around 20 volunteers supported the hubs, helping to cook food, and speak with those who came along. One volunteer who does not wish to be named said they found out the hub was closing via social media.

They said:

“It has left a very sour taste. We found out with everyone else. I will miss the other volunteers and also the users.”

Just weeks before the sudden closure of the hubs the charity stopped providing hot meals.

In May, longstanding CSN chair and founder Toby Birch stood down and the charity’s strategic director Alice Morgan also left the same month.

In a statement the CSN trustee’s board said:

“Our Community Engagement Hub programme, which has been running for three years, took place across three of our community centres, with one two-hour session taking place weekly in Semilong, Bellinge and Briar Hill (six hours per week in total).

“The decision to close this programme was incredibly difficult and taken only after all other options had been explored. We’re proud of what the programme delivered over the past three years, and we know it meant a great deal to many people. The programme was initially funded by local authority support, but when that ended, we chose to continue it at our own expense to support the community for as long as we responsibly could.

“However, without replacement funding in place, the trustees made the difficult but necessary decision to bring the programme to a close – in order to protect the long-term stability of the charity and ensure we can continue our broader work across the community.

“This included the very difficult step of making three roles redundant. We want to take this opportunity to publicly thank those team members for their dedication, professionalism and care.

“We recognise this has been a challenging time for those affected and want to reassure everyone that we followed best practice at all times, with the process carried out carefully, respectfully and in full compliance with our legal and HR responsibilities.

“We’re sorry that some individuals felt they were not given enough notice.

“While we’re confident the process was handled appropriately, we are always open to feedback and committed to continuous reflection and improvement.

“Community Spaces Northampton remains on a strong footing and our community centres continue to operate as usual. We are now meeting with local organisations, charity leaders, funders and the local authority to explore potential new models of partnership working. Our priority is ensuring that the people who benefitted from the programme are not left behind, and that we find new, collaborative ways to meet community need.

“Our focus is on the future – working together to ensure our centres remain open, accessible and welcoming to all.”

The board said it had received £400 this financial year from the local authority towards the community hub programmes.

West Northamptonshire Council said it has provided £153,426 in grant funding to CSN since 2021 via various funding pots. It said the last grant given to the charity was from the Well Northants Fund which is specifically for art and wellbeing sessions at Briar Hill Social Club, a four months project at Bellinge Open House and activities for home educated children at the Semilong learning hub.