Community Hub Background

What is the Community Hub?

The Long Wittenham Community Hub is planned to include all of the following (although it may arrive in phases):

  • New Village Hall
  • New Primary School and playing fields
  • New facilities for Pre-School
  • New outside space including play facilities
  • Plenty of car parking for both School and Village Hall

Why a Community Hub?

The Hub idea emerged during preparations for the Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP).

“Wittenham Vision” had previously looked at providing a new village hall as the present hall is now about 100 years old.  The Hall has only one usable room and so can only be used by one community group at any one time.

As the Pre-School uses it most days during term time this is very limiting on other users during the daytime.  A new Hall with more space and several varying sized rooms will give us a lot more flexibility.

During preparations for the NDP the idea of a new school came forward.  The present school achieves really good results and is well loved by the Village but the building is now ageing and does not meet the space standards and facilities expected of modern schools.

Robert Weavers who farms much of the land south of the village attended the village school during his childhood and knew that it was now showing its age.  He made an offer of some land that could be used to build both a new school and a new village hall together with plenty of outside space.  A plan was devised to build sufficient new homes on the same site and to use the profit to cross-fund the new Hub facilities.  This has the added benefit of taking the school and village hall away from the congested High Street easing our perennial traffic problems.

After some careful planning and numerous discussions the Parish Council, assisted by our consultant Savills and working closely with Mr Weavers’ Agents, interviewed potential development partners and decided to appoint Thomas Homes based at Chievely, Newbury as our preferred developer.  Thomas Homes have a wealth of experience in complex projects and all the partners in the Hub were impressed by Chris Brotherton their Director.