Hardwick Community Centre Working Group

On behalf of the Hardwick Parish Council 

Community Centre Update - August 2026 

The approved plans for a new community centre between the pavilion and the MUGA have now been prepared for tendering.

Over this summer period work has been continuing on undertaking the twenty two planning conditions that needed further submissions to planning before the next phase of development can begin. The majority of these need completing prior to tendering and have included such areas as, conditions regarding foul water drainage, energy statement, noise assessments and water efficiency and surface water drainage. As you can see from just these few there are a number of professional bodies involved in producing these documents that then are passed to the architect and the Parish Council via our working group. Now that the pre-build conditions have been submitted to the planning department tendering can begin.

The tender documents will be circulated to a small number of building contractors in the Cambridge area that have a track record of successful projects of the scope and size of ours. We expect the costs to be presented for the Parish Council to consider over the next few months and completion by October next year- 2027, once a preferred contractor has been chosen.

As part of an Arboricultural Impact Assessment consideration was given to the best place to add a temporary road (a haul road) that will allow access for vehicles to the site for deliveries of construction materials. In doing so some trees may now be affected and we are getting these surveyed.

The MUGA will then act as a fenced works compound for the duration of the build. The advantages of this are that it will give a safe compound for the building materials and vehicles whilst protecting the trees along the grass area of Egremont Road (see drawing below).

In brief the project is progressing well and still very much on schedule to be completed and open in 2027. Of course all dates are projected dates and subject to change.

Full plans are available below. 

Make your family's or children’s names famous

We are raising money for the new community centre. Do your bit and make it your centre with your family’s name or your children’s names on our decorated foyer windows. 

We are going to have decorated display windows in the entrance and main hall. Each window will have names on - your name can be one.

Pledge now, pay later

See below how you can pledge and what you will receive for your pledge.

1- Donations

Donate or raise at least £100 and you can have your family’s name, children’s names or group’s name displayed in the window decorations.

How can you raise money?

As a family, why not organise, by yourself or with neighbours or as a whole street, a cake sale, outgrown toy sale, karaoke or wine tasting?

Get with friends to have a children’s clothes sale, a cake and coffee morning, or anything that helps to raise £100.

If you need a free venue for your money-raising activity we can help. Get your friends to donate too, and get them on the donations list.

An example of the lettering style to be applied to the windows.

2 - Be a sponsor

Give or raise £500+ and have your name on the sponsors’ wall.

How? Raise the money with your group, WI, Jazzercise, fencing, Scouts, Guides, pre-school, Baptist Church, or get your business to donate as a sponsor and get their name on the wall.

An example of the wall plaques for sponsor donations.

3- Be a Patron

How? Raise or get a business to give £10,000+ to get on the exclusive patrons’ wall.

Make a pledge

If you want to pledge some money to any of these three areas, email your pledge to fundraising@hardwickcommunitycentre.org. Please include your chosen names as you wish them to appear. Alternatively, you can pledge anonymously.

You will then receive a pledge certificate and we will send details of how you can pay the money into the Hardwick Community Centre fund any time between now and April 2023. We hope to have a Gift Aid option open soon too.

What will happen when I pledge?

Once you make your pledge, you will receive a pledge certificate to your email address. Pledges should be paid by 1st April 2023.

How to pay your pledge will be emailed to you with the details of the fundraising account.

Will I be able to Gift Aid my donation?

At the moment we are in the process of setting up a charity that will play a part in the management of the centre. When this is set up, pledges will be able to be paid with Gift Aid.

You can pay now or wait and make it a Gift Aid donation and we will get even more as it will attract a government contribution. This is the benefit of making a pledge now and paying later.

Will all pledge donations be part of a permanent display?

All pledge donations will be added to one of the three display areas.

Names displayed on the windows at the front of the building, and the process used to apply them, is intended to be long-lasting and the organising group hopes they will be there well into the future. However, it is impossible to predict accurately enough to make this a promise of the donation process. It is intended that they will be guaranteed a minimum of five years, during which time the management of the building will repair and/or replace any damaged names such as through broken windows or similar.

Those involved in the project at this point of time hope that the longevity of the lettering and the desire to replace any damage will continue well into the future.

As a long-term backup, and for historical records, the names of those displayed through donations, sponsorships or as patrons will also be recorded in a decorated book to be held in the centre as a record of the village’s involvement in building the centre.

Terms and conditions

All pledges are subject to the Pledge Terms and conditions (https://www.hardwickcommunitycentre.org/terms-and-conditions).