Jubilee Hall, Bierton – a warm, welcoming and inclusive space
How Bierton Parish Council created a warm, welcoming and inclusive space to help residents with rise in cost-of-living
The background
As prices for everyday items in supermarkets are increasing, coupled with other costs such as rising energy bills, the cost-of-living crisis has been felt by everyone, with the most vulnerable members of communities feeling the squeeze more keenly.
The challenge
Many people are having to make difficult decisions about how they spend their money – what food they buy and even whether to heat their homes in winter. Supporting organisations are looking to find ways they can help members of the community to weather this crisis, particularly as the temperatures drop in winter.
In many instances, people are becoming more reliant on services such as Food Larders and Food Banks, but how can groups improve access to heating?
The solution
Bierton Parish Council decided to help its residents by providing a Warm Space within their Jubilee Hall facility.
A centre-point of the Parish, the Jubilee Hall is well known to the community and opened its doors to offer a warm, friendly, inclusive environment for people to socialise. As well as light-refreshments, there are also activities for people to get involved in as well as read the day’s papers and free Wi-Fi for people to use whilst they are there.
The Jubilee Hall is open to local residents on Tuesdays (2-4pm) from December 2022 to end of February 2023, enabling people a period during which they can save money on their own heating bills as well as providing a welcoming space for those having a tough time over the winter months. There is no need to book or register.
The result
The Bierton warm hub is part of the Welcoming Spaces initiative, a wider scheme of measures being coordinated by Buckinghamshire Council to provide communal spaces so that residents can save on their energy bills and make the next few months more comfortable, financially and socially. The full list of welcoming spaces can be found here.
“Would like to thank everyone concerned for the very enjoyable afternoon. Great to play crib again with a special thank you to my two fellow participants. Looking forward to seeing you all hopefully next week.” – a Jubilee Hall Welcoming Space User
“A lovely afternoon, played dominoes & taught someone patience. Great company many thanks, was lovely to get out” – a Jubilee Hall Welcoming Space User
Further Information
- For more information on the Jubilee Hall, visit the Bierton Parish Council website.
- For more information on how Community Impact Bucks helps Buckinghamshire’s community buildings and village halls, go to our Community Buildings webpage. If you would like to speak to someone about your community building/ village hall, please email Frankie on frankie@communityimpactbucks.org.uk
- For more information on how your community building/ village hall can become a Welcoming Spaces, visit the Buckinghamshire Council website.
- For wider community support, residents can visit the Helping Hands page on the Buckinghamshire Council website.
- Read about the general central government support on the Help for Households campaign website.
- Find out more about financial support with cost-of-living by visiting gov.uk website.
