We are delighted to announce that as of 29th July we have the keys to the new Cabin at St Mary’s! This is the culmination of many years of dreaming, praying, planning, fund raising and work! We are grateful to the brilliant team from Coulson’s who partnered with us well before any work was done on site. Their encouragement, helpfulness and expertise have kept us on track and the finished building looks classier than we ever imagined!
What’s inside? The main hall is light and airy with large patio doors out to the garden area. The acoustic is good, and the feel is welcoming. The kitchen is fully fitted with a serving hatch through to the hall. There is a small meeting room available for use as well. In the autumn we’ll be planting a hedge of native species, reseeding the grass and planting up the beds to make the area wild-life friendly and an enjoyable place to come and sit.
The aim of the project was to provide a place where anyone from Hardwick could meet and participate in clubs, classes and social events. Please do think about what you would like to see happening here! The tiered hiring rates are aimed to keep it affordable for voluntary community groups. But before we can get going, there are still some bits to finish re drainage, landscaping, installing a cycle shelter and storage shed as well as snagging. We will also take longer to get up and running thanks to Covid 19 and the need to make sure we have all the correct safety protocols in place to protect the Cabin users. In the meantime, talk to any of Peter Cornwell, Anne Jones or Clare Bigg. We will post detailed information about using and hiring the Cabin as soon as we can.
We owe a huge debt of gratitude to so many local individuals and groups who have contributed generously to this project in all manner of ways. Our planned ‘thank you’ event has been postponed to 2021, but we want you all to know now how much we have appreciated your participation. We want to say ‘thank you’ to our corporate donors, Chivers Farms and Hill, for their support of the project. We also gratefully acknowledge our grant funders who include the Amey Community Fund (part of the Landfill Communities Fund), WREN (FCC Communities Foundation), The Garfield Weston Foundation, The Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation, The Allchurches Trust, The Shone Trust, The Rural Cambridgeshire Fund and the South Cambs Community Chest.
Logos of major grant funders
We are delighted that the vision we have had over many years at St Mary’s has eventually become a reality. We are very proud to be part of it. Thank you to everyone who has contributed in any way.