With the likelihood of starting construction of the New Building in the Autumn, the WiNSpace team have launch their final donation push. The WiNSpace team have raised £1,700,000, much of which has been sourced from outside the Parish, such as National Grants and Government funds and they are looking for that last £300,000. We know that we can build a building for £1.7M but we must not stop there as we need to build a community centre. What this final £300,000 gives the building is proper kitchens, better inclusivity, solar panels, improved flooring (hopefully sprung), AV and Wi-Fi systems, good quality doors and windows, more storage and much much more.

We now have a fund thermometer outside the main building, what can you do to make us meet the top and burst through our Target of £2,000,000. Please help us

As the Winscombe Community Association has moved to what is called an ‘Incorporated Charity’ we now have a new Constitution. This requires the WCA to have members. Therefore WCA have just launched a new membership scheme which is completely free. Why not join the WCA as a member and be first to hear what is going on especially with the New Building about to start construction.

Close on the heels of our Community Ownership Fund Grant of £300,000 we have just heard that we have obtained £200,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund. This is another massive step for the project. We have also been informed that we will be receiving a further £60,000 in grants from providers once the digging starts.
With 89% of funds identified (see below), it’s to going happen very soon, although there’s still lots to do and more funds to find.

Our thanks goes to the National Lottery Community Fund and all those who have played the lottery

The design team, led by our Architects B2, have now completed all the design details.  This includes the layouts, the building structure, the heating & ventilation system, the electrical design and supply requirements. They are aiming to create a really sustainable building which not only will provide fantastic spaces but a place which gives the community a focal point to meet.  This has all been put together as a single package so that:

WiNSpace is now out for Tender!

This is a major milestone which means we are on schedule to start the construction phase later this year. We are all working hard to ensure we stay on track, with lots to do; raising more funds, completing the legal requirements for Grants and selling the Headmasters’ house. From our recent User meeting, we have created a FAQ page on our website. Why not go to winspace.org.uk to find out more, look for:

For our User Information Evening our Architects have created some new 3D images of how the building will look once built these can be seen below and throughout our website. We’re now very close to sending out all the drawing to construction companies to allow them to tender for the construction.

At this meeting we will be able to show how the new community centre will look, and give our timeline for the start of the projected build. We have plans of the building, and proposals for the inside layout which we want to share. We can answer questions, and welcome suggestions as to how it will benefit the community. Your opinion really does count!

We also want to share our plans for the transition phase, during the construction, and what the possible impacts on users could be.

We want to involve as many users and future users of the site, to help drive this project forward as smoothly as possible. This whole project has been run by volunteers who want to serve the community, and to create a new centre for you and future generations in the village.

The evening will start at 6.30pm with a formal presentation at around 7.00pm. There will be plenty of time after this for you to talk to members of WiNSace to ask questions and look at the plans. Refreshments will be available.

More details for the floor and room layouts are now being sent over from our Architects B2. It’s amazing what they are able to put into our Phase 1 building. Once completed we’ll have four different size and style rooms and spaces available for you to use, plus all the other normal community centre facilities. In the building we’ll have a

• 130 seat space for larger functions, shows and events
• A rear activity hall (with about the same space as our current main hall)
• A front meeting room (50% larger than our Amesbury Room)
• A large kitchen with an additional rear entrance and storage, plus a small one on the first floor
• A large open foyer
• Storage in each of the main rooms and foyer
• Plus office spaces

We are now in the stage of creating specifications for the electrical, ventilation and heating systems. Keep coming back to the website and keep up to date with what is going on.

Our Architects B2 and our consultants for structural design, electrical design and heat management are now working hard to create a building specification. Once this is completed a tender document will be created and sent out to various construction companies to provide us the build quotes. This is currently scheduled to happen towards the end of March. Once we have received the quotes and talked to each of the construction companies we hope to appoint our build late May or Early June.