Tag: Stirchley Baths

It has to be a yes – Rob Gilbert from Stirchley Stores

Rob Gilbert is the committee chair of Stirchley Stores, the co-operative on Pershore Road that supplies ethical, affordable and local food. Stirchley Stores wants to move into the Stirchley Baths community hub. Here, Rob explains why the Heritage Lottery decision due very soon has to be a ‘yes’ for Stirchley…

Stirchley Stores

“The Stirchley Baths community hub is the ideal place for Stirchley Stores. Sustainability and community are at the heart of Stirchley Stores, helping people contribute to the rejuvenation of their High Street. These values are what the community hub project is all about too.

We need a new premises because Loaf – our neighbour in Pershore Road – is looking to expand. We currently use the premises rent-free in exchange for selling their bread and the consensus among our members is that Stirchley Baths is the ideal location for us. It’s a good-value plan and will help us to be even more connected to the local community.

We’re growing too. We’re mostly run by volunteers, although we pay a volunteer co-ordinator and we’re about to take on our first paid worker in the shop too. Moving into the community hub will help us to take Stirchley Stores to the next stage.

The Stirchley Baths community hub will be a real focal point for the whole Stirchley community, enabling more people to connect and get things done for the good of the village. There will be a cafe in there, a cinema, meeting rooms, events – it will be a huge boost for the whole village and we’re really keen to be a part of it.”

The decision from HLF is expected very soon. Please tell us why it *has* to be a ‘yes’ by:

It has to be a yes – Mick Jones from stirchley.co.uk

Mick Jones runs the excellent stirchley.co.uk website for the village. Here’s why Mick thinks the Heritage Lottery Fund decision for Stirchley Baths – due imminently – has to be a yes…

“Stirchley Baths is a beautiful building which has shamed Stirchley for over 20 years through neglect. Regeneration, however, means a focal point so necessary for the wellbeing of a village, somewhere to go with children, adults and the vulnerable.

Stirchley website

I hope there will be dances, not necessarily discos but the sort of dances that families can attend, barn dancing where one can go without a partner. There will be rooms for discussion groups, clubs and meetings.

Throughout the country there are beautiful village halls that are economical to hire, meaning the community can put on a play, a dance or a party, for the community.

We in Stirchley need this facility in what is, after all, a heritage building, married to the library and next to a small park. Could anyone ask for a better location?”

The decision from HLF is expected very soon. Please tell us why it *has* to be a ‘yes’ by:

It has to be a yes – Emma Larkinson from Place Prospectors

Emma Larkinson from Place Prospectors explains why she thinks the Heritage Lottery Fund decision on Stirchley Baths – due very soon – has to be a ‘yes’…

Emma Larkinson

“Stirchley Baths was once at the hub of a vibrant junction at Bournville Lane bringing together learning, leisure and commerce. Over the years Stirchley has lost many of its local resources – the post office, co-operative education centre, the Friends Meeting House, the great mixed use road that was Hazelwell Lane – and it lost its name from the station ocean named Stirchley Street.

At a time of such financial pressures on public and private investment this is a huge opportunity for the community to bring back into use this beautiful building. Stirchley’s active networks of creative minds, committed community leaders and traders could make this building into a social focus once again. But we need a yes to start the ball rolling!”

The decision from HLF is expected very soon. Please tell us why it *has* to be a ‘yes’ by:

Decision due on Stirchley Baths. Tell us why it has to be ‘yes’!

Sink Or Swim
People were in no doubt that the Stirchley Baths HLF bid should swim, not sink, at a wonderful summer event

A decision on the Stirchley Baths Heritage Lottery fund bid is expected very soon. The West Midlands committee of the HLF met earlier this week to consider the bid to transform Stirchley Baths into a thriving community hub for local people and their decision is imminent.

Thanks to everyone who has been involved in the project and supported the HLF bid in whatever way. Now it’s crunch time – and the Stirchley Baths project has to swim!

Please tell us why the HLF decision *has* to be a ‘yes’ by:

  • Leaving a comment here on the website
  • Sending an email to stirchleybaths@gmail.com
  • Tweeting us a message @stirchleybaths
  • Leaving a comment on our Facebook page – www.facebook.com/StirchleyBaths

The whole Stirchley community got behind the bid, creating a show of hands around the baths in April and culminating in a fantastic ‘Sink or Swim’ event in June where local people weighed in their support for a ‘yes’.

‘Sink Or Swim’ at Stirchley Baths

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Stirchley Baths’ final-stage bid for Lottery funding will be submitted on 17th June 2013. It’s a pivotal moment in the history of the project and of the building itself.

This moment was marked with a fantastic participatory arts event at the Baths on Saturday called ‘Sink Or Swim’, organised by Place Prospectors.

Local people came along to weigh in their support for the project (literally!) and transformed the word ‘Sink’ in balloons into ‘Swim’. Dozens and dozens of balloons were weighed down with a ‘thumbs up’ ceramic weight. Visitors to the event chose a balloon…

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and had their ceramic hand weighed in.

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A record of the weight was made in a special ledger, which they signed, and their balloon was added to the ‘Swim’ board.

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Slowly, over the event, the word ‘Sink’ became ‘Swim’ – genius! – before all of the balloons were popped at the end!

Sink Or Swim

The wonderful Stirchley Shakers cheerleaders added a celebratory feeling to the day…

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and well over 200 people visited the event, many sitting on the old bowling green behind Stirchley Baths to have some food.

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At the end of the event, the water area even became an impromptu paddling pool!

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It was a really wonderful day! Huge thanks to Place Prospectors for creating such a fantastic way for local people to show their support for the Heritage Lottery Fund bid, and especially to everyone who came along on the day.

The HLF bid will be submitted on 17th June, with a decision expected in September…

To see lots more photos from the day click below