Ramsey Community Centre kitchen

The wider project (funded from other sources) is to build an extension to the existing building which will provide an additional meeting room, a commercial kitchen, and new toilets, together with a re-configured entrance which will allow all three rooms to be hired independently or together. The building work has already begun but we are looking to Thalia WB Community Fund to make a grant for the cost of fitting kitchen equipment.
There is a need for more community space to engage people in positive activity locally. The Ramsey area scores highly on the indices of multiple deprivation, for example unemployment and income deprivation, and health-related benefit claims ratings are above the national average. The population is also older than most, with higher disability and health deprivation ratings, for example factors relating to risk of early death and physical and mental ill-health. 15% of local people suffer with Hypertension, nearly 10% with obesity and over 12% have a diagnosis of depression (GP data), higher than the average and exacerbated by longer waiting times for interventions like talking therapies (House of Commons Health Statistics Report, March 2023). In addition to health and affordability concerns, many in our community feel isolated, lonely and are underconfident about taking part in more formal group activity.

Our project aims to help address some of these challenges in our community by enabling us to increase the range and amount of activity we can offer by building an extension to the Centre housing a new meeting room, kitchen and toilet facilities whilst reconfiguring the entrance and lobby area. This will leave us with three separate rooms to hire independently and apart from each other at the same time, thus increasing availability. Equally by increasing the size and amenities of the kitchen, we will be offering opportunities for the preparation of food within the hall. We would also offer teaching cookery skills for various groups, young people, especially those using food banks and adults with special needs. Within the local area, there are no other halls that can offer this.