Would you like to work with a charity to help improve rural communities in Berkshire?

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We are seeking new Trustees to help us continue our work of enhancing, empowering, and strengthening rural communities in Berkshire. This is a fantastic opportunity to join the friendly and welcoming team at CCB as we enter a period of growth with new projects to help support our rural communities.

We are seeking enthusiastic individuals who have an interest in working to improve community life in Berkshire to join our Board of Trustees. This is a non-remunerated post however out of pocket expenses such as travel are payable.

We are particularly interested to hear from people who have a background in human resources, experience of working on a parish/town council, or someone who is a great communicator and loves attending events/networking on behalf of our charity.

Your skills and experience will be used to make a lasting difference in our local communities. If you have more time to dedicate, then this could be the perfect role for you as we are a small team and rely on volunteer support to help complete key task and finish jobs. Alternatively, if you have a busy working life then there are only a handful of, mostly evening, meetings to attend a year in which you could attend while sharing your expertise, providing guidance, and helping to make important decisions.

We have over 50 years of experience and history in community development work and are an active member of the Action with Communities in Rural England Network (ACRE). Our vision is for all communities in Berkshire to be strong, resilient, sustainable, and able to control their own futures. CCB’s purpose is to inspire action at a community level that improves people’s quality of life. Please click here for further details.

Please e-mail admin@ccberks.org.uk or to find out more about us and our current projects please visit our website: www.ccberks.org.uk. To make an appointment for an informal conversation with our Chief Executive Officer Tim please call on the landline; 01189 612000.

FREE Professional Energy Reviews for Community Buildings Advice Service members

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We are delighted to be working in partnership with the Wokingham Council Energy Team to offer free, professional Energy Reviews for eligible CBAS Member Halls. An energy review focuses on how energy is accessed and used in the hall. It is specific to the hall you manage and will offer detailed guidance, including costs, on the changes your committee can make to your hall and details of cost savings and carbon reductions.

This offer is open to both Charities and Parish council-run halls.

We are offering 8 free Energy Reviews this spring with a further round being offered later in the year.

To be eligible, your hall must meet the following criteria:

  1. Be a CBAS member hall that has had a CCB Hall Audit
  2. Have one or more of the following features identified in your Hall Audit:
    • Poorly insulated or uninsulated floors, roof, ceiling or walls.
    • Single glazing, poorly fitted, rotting, or draughty doors or windows.
    • Old and/or inefficient heating and/or hot water systems (including temperature controls)
    • Use of off-grid gas or oil
  3. Be able to demonstrate in a short statement a strong intention to take action to reduce energy use and carbon emissions
  4. Provide the names and contact details of three trustees or committee members who support the application (This includes the lead applicant)

The deadline for this round of applications is midday on Monday 25th March. We will be contacting all applicants in the week following the 25th to let them know whether they have been successful.

Apply online by clicking here.

For more information please contact Kate Meads at kate.meads@ccberks.org.uk or call us on 0118 9612000

Meet our new Rural Housing Enablers!

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We are now very pleased to introduce to you our two new Rural Housing Enablers – Maria Kelly and Barry Malki

Maria joined our charity over a year ago as our Project Development Officer on our 21st Century Halls programme (https://ccberks.org.uk/our-projects/rural-hubs-village-halls-fit-for-the-21st-century/). Maria has worked in the community sector for 20 years and has extensive experience in community-led partnerships.

Maria says “I’m thrilled to take on a new role at CCB working with communities to help tackle rural housing need. Lack of affordable housing is a huge problem across the country and can make it impossible for people in rural areas to stay living in their communities if their housing needs and circumstances change. It’s exciting to be part of this nationwide initiative which could make a real positive impact on rural housing.”

Until the end of March 2024, Maria will be splitting her time over both roles and we soon will be recruiting another member of the team to support our Community Buildings Advisor, Kate Meads to deliver this important key project and further develop new opportunities for CCB to support Berkshire’s rural communities.

We also offer a warm welcome to a new face in the CCB family in the form of Barry Malki. Barry has spent many years working in the Housing Sector, primarily focused on social impact and communities. During this period, Barry has worked with different organisations and agencies across the country and is a passionate advocate of shared learning and supporting networks.

Barry says “I am keen over the next six months to engage with many different organisations and stakeholders across the county, to help them to understand their role in the development of new Housing supply in areas that may otherwise be overlooked by developers.“

Before working in Housing, Barry toured as a full-time musician, and since 2020 has come out of retirement to play in several touring theatre shows (so you may catch him somewhere in a sparkly blazer with epaulettes!).

There are increasing problems with affordability in our villages which makes our rural communities increasingly unsustainable. Building the homes people need brings vitality to rural communities and helps boost the rural economy at this difficult time. This project will help rural communities in Berkshire carry out a housing needs survey and identify potential sites.

TONIGHT (27/02/24) at 7pm they kick off the project with an online Rural Housing Event. This launch event will give more information about the support available for your community to carry out a housing needs survey and identify potential sites. If you’d like to book click here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rural-housing-event-tickets-844734352187?aff=oddtdtcreator

Opportunity to find out more about Affordable Housing in Berkshire’s Rural Communities

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We are running an online event next week (27th February 2024 at 7pm) about our new Rural Affordable Housing Service!

With investment from Defra via our national body Action with Communities in Rural England we can once again provide a rural housing enabling service to rural communities across Berkshire.

We are looking forward to working with people who live in rural communities and partners to create new opportunities to provide affordable homes for local people in rural areas.

The increasing problems with affordability in our villages make our rural communities increasingly unsustainable. Building the homes people need brings vitality to rural communities and helps boost the rural economy at this difficult time.

The event will give more information about the support available for your community to carry out a housing needs survey and identify potential sites. We will hear from a local Housing Association that works in collaboration with communities to develop affordable homes. There will be plenty of time to ask questions about your own particular needs.

The event takes place online via Zoom at 7pm on Tuesday 27th February.

Please find out more and book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/844734352187?aff=oddtdtcreator

Exciting News for Rural Communities in Berkshire

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We recently learned that we have been successful in our application to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for funding to provide a rural housing-enabling service to support Parish Councils in Berkshire to address their local affordable housing needs.

We are currently in the process of recruiting for this post and will be able to share more news about this shortly. This type of support has not been available since 2017 when funding for our previous project dropped to unsustainable levels. Since that time the housing situation for many rural communities has worsened, with increased house prices and a drop in the availability of rented homes. We are really keen to we use this funding to make a real impact on the provision of high-quality affordable homes for those living in our villages.

Through this service, CCB will be able to work with rural parishes in Berkshire to: 

  • Undertake a housing needs survey to establish evidence for the numbers and tenures of homes that might be needed.  We have budget available to carry out some surveys at no cost where a parish wants to explore rural affordable housing options.
  • Help with site identification and site appraisals to find a potential rural exception site in the parish.
  • Help parishes decide on the best delivery route to meet their ambitions: for example through a community-led approach whereby the community takes the lead in designing and commissioning the project, or through transferring the site to a housing association to develop in consultation with the community. We have built strong links with local housing associations who are committed to rural affordable housing and working collaboratively with communities.
  • Liaise with the local housing and planning authority to help the scheme achieve a planning permission. We are working closely with the Berkshire housing and planning authorities to deliver this programme.
  •  Coordinate the delivery of the site, including community engagement, funding, partnership agreements, and letting and sales arrangements.

This initial funding is only available until March 2025. Whilst we hope that the funding will be extended, we do want to use this period to make significant progress in the identification of suitable sites that can lead to new affordable homes for people priced out of local housing.

If you would like to register you interest in this project please contact Tim.Parry@ccberks.org.uk