Community an inspiration, Teesdale Mercury

DALE residents who paid £1 for a building so they could create a community centre are proving an inspiration for people in Wales.

Revamping the old Carlbeck School, in Lunedale, has been a labour of love for residents.

Villagers bought the freehold for £1 and then secured £152,000 from the Big Lottery Fund and £13,500 from the North Pennines AONB to transform the site into a community centre.

Work is nearly finished and an opening ceremony is being planned for later this year.

Last week, about 15 community leaders from the Wrexham area, in Wales, travelled to Teesdale.

They were touring the dale so they could learn more about Teesdale Village Halls Consortium – a charity set up to provide support to people who run community centres in the dale.

As part of the trip, the delegation went to the Carlbeck Centre. They said they were inspired by how Lunedale residents had achieved their dream.

Architect Margaret Heaton, from Wrexham, said: “They’ve done an absolute cracking job. People here have created something that’s nice and has real taste. It’s going to want to make people come here.”

Lisa Jones, from a Welsh organisation for volunteers, said: “A lot of village halls and community centres in Wrexham are surrounded by houses but there isn’t much community support.

“Places like Lunedale don’t have many homes but they have a lot of support. It makes you realise there are villages out there with real community spirit. It’s amazing.”

The Carlbeck school closed in 1958 and the building later fell into disrepair. 

Margaret Dent, who was one of the last pupils at the school, said: “We don’t have a shop, post office or pub and we thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if we had somewhere to meet up’.”

Lunedale residents had to prove that the building, which was originally paid for by public subscription, belonged to the community.

“That was difficult,” Mrs Dent said. 

“Lord Strathmore offered to sell the building for £1, but we disagreed that it was his right to sell it. But he helped us out by giving us the freehold for £1.”

Events planned for the new-look Carlbeck centre include pilates, spinning, dances, parish council meetings, fetes, plant swaps and Christmas parties.

Residents hope a small wind turbine will provide a surplus of electricity in the summer that can be sold to the national grid. A ground source heat pump will also power under-floor heating.

Richard Proud, one of the committee members, said: “We’re trying to reduce the burden on the community in the future. We need to keep running costs down because we have such as small community.”

The building is also the first public building to use sheep wool as insulation.

Local farmers provided 800 fleeces that were cut up and then placed in the roof space.

Fleeces are usually processed before they are used as insulation, Mr Proud said.

Mr Proud said: “We haven’t done that, which makes it incredibly experimental. The Wool Marketing Board weren’t able to offer us advice because they had no idea how it would work. 

“But it made the building unique and made us stand out when we were applying for funding.”

Before visiting Lunedale, the Welsh delegates went to other village halls in Teesdale, including Hutton Magna, Barningham and Mickleton. More visits were planned for the next day.

Helen Thistlethwaite, from Teesdale Village Halls Consortium, said the trip allowed ideas to be exchanged.

“We’ve been approached by people who want to set up organisations similar to the consortium, but it’s the first time there’s been a visit like this. It’s a good way of learning from each other.”