Great news! MP for Hereford & Herefordshire South has confirmed this afternoon that the Vennture bid for the RVS building in St James and Bartonsham has been successful!
Jesse Norman said: “Fantastic news that the Vennture bid for the RVS building in St James and Bartonsham has been successful! Should be a wonderful community asset for the community, the city and the county. Very pleased to have been able to help this forward. Onwards and upwards now.”
Earlier article that highlighted concerns from local parents:
âOur community needs this building,â say local parents, as national charity sells former community centre.
An independent group of Herefordshire school parents and local residents are campaigning for the Royal Voluntary Service to keep in line with their values of community support when deciding who the new owners of the building on Vicarage road will be. The campaign is gathering traction with over 300 votes from residents and support from local councillor Jeremy Milln. There is an opportunity to use some of the building and grounds to expand space for St. James School on to the adjoining former vicarage site. However having secured over ÂŁ1m in public grants to improve the old vicarage, its owners, the Royal Voluntary Service, have decided to sell the site on the open market.
âOne of the interested parties is offering the school a nursery and gain much needed space,â explained Anna Layton, a St.James resident whose child attends St James school. âThe RVS has an opportunity and a duty to leave a favourable foot print on this community and what better way than to support our children?â. Hereford charity, Vennture with the support of a local charitable trust have reached out to the school regarding the much-needed space with their bid.
The former vicarage was sold at auction in October 1963 to the then Womenâs Voluntary Service for ÂŁ5,100. The WVS used it as a much loved base for a Meals-on-Wheels service, a residential club, clothing store and space for the local scout troop. In 2004 the charity received ÂŁ1m of public money to turn the building into the state-of-the-art Riverside Community Centre complete with a purpose-built nursery, office accommodation and commercial kitchen. But the Riverside was gradually run down and eventually closed.
The prestigious riverside property is on the market with Sunderlands estate agents with âoffers upwards of ÂŁ500,000â.
To find out more about the space for St.James campaign please http://spaceforstjames.org/ or www.facebook.com/spaceforstjames
