31st December 2025
It was with sadness that we learned that the PCC have announced that the Church Hall will go on the open market in the New Year. We were disappointed to hear that their response to our request for more time to fundraise was made public before it was sent to us and furthermore, contained inaccuracies regarding the project which we now seek to correct.
In November 2025, we were finally able to secure a meeting with the PCC, after our initial request was refused back in May. At this meeting, we presented a summary of the work that had been done so far in building a case for the amount of funding that will be required, and the magnitude of the task ahead of us in seeking to bring the building into community ownership. The progress we have made in just six months is significant, including research into potential funding streams, the application processes for which are lengthy and extremely complex when considering the amount of money we are seeking to raise.
We have also been busy consulting with the community to ensure we have their support to proceed with the project, and inviting their ideas and thoughts on the future of the building and what Weardale needs from its community spaces; conducting a public survey and petition to gauge support. We have met and gained the support of our MP and his team, and our local county councillors, and made many connections with other people with knowledge and expertise who can offer advice when developing such a significant capital project, as well as researching other successful examples of community ownership.
It is therefore inaccurate and damaging to the campaign for the PCC to publicly state that ‘no progress at all’ has been made, and reveals a fundamental lack of understanding of the complexities of such a large scale capital project. It is categorically untrue and discredits the hard work that the project group have put in over the last nine months, and the enormous amount of support that has been demonstrated by our community. Such a declaration risks damaging community trust in the campaign, and undermining funder confidence in the project.
It should be noted for the record that the project group is made up of members of our community who are working on this project voluntarily, driven by concern for the future of our shared spaces and a wish to see this well-used and important building saved. We believe the Hall is a vital part of life in Weardale; socially, culturally, and practically; and should be protected and preserved for future generations as its loss would have a significant and far-reaching impact on the community.
It is also important to clarify that while Weardale Together CIC is represented on the project group, the project is not led by them. The project group will become a separate and properly constituted entity in due course, once the most suitable structure has been identified as part of our business plan.
The project group registered the Hall as an Asset of Community Value in June 2025. Because applications must be made by a constituted body, Weardale Together CIC was named as the potential bidder. The successful application meant the PCC was legally required to pause the sale for six months, giving the community time to develop plans and raise funds to purchase the Hall. A quote from the PCC in the recent Weardale Gazette article dated 30th December which states that ‘the PCC was pleased to give the Weardale Together CIC the opportunity to fundraise to buy the church hall for community use’ is therefore misleading; the PCC had no choice in this matter as it was a legal requirement under the Community Right to Bid provisions of the Localism Act 2011.
This legislation is set to be replaced by a new Community Right to Buy through the government’s English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. The proposed new legislation recognises that the current six-month moratorium is insufficient for communities to raise significant funds and is intended to strengthen community purchasing power. It is expected to allow community organisations to buy Assets of Community Value without competition if they can raise the funds and extend the sale moratorium to 12 months.
The PCC have stated that they were keen for the community to succeed in their bid to purchase the building; in reality the group have been stonewalled by the PCC; first reaching out to request a meeting in early May 2025, which was initially refused and then only granted in November 2025. Despite our interest in the building and our wish to work in partnership with the PCC being expressed clearly throughout our communications with them and our public comments and updates on the campaign, there has been no engagement, support or provision of vital information confirming asking price, estimated repair costs and timescales, all of which would have supported and sped up progress on fundraising.
The request for additional time and crucially, the granting of ‘preferred bidder status’ which has now been refused by the PCC is a pivotal point in the process. As the sum of money required to not only purchase the building but also to carry out the significant repairs required after years of neglect is estimated to be in the region of £1m, the fundraising process is long and complex. In order to be successful, we first need to raise funds to carry out initial feasibility studies, obtain legal advice, carry out surveys of the building and engage expert advice to ensure the project is viable and sustainable. As we explained to the PCC at our meeting in November, we are unable to unlock even these preliminary funds to carry out this work without a degree of confidence that we would eventually be able to purchase the building before it was sold to another bidder, as funders need this assurance, for obvious reasons. The status of ‘preferred bidder’ would have allowed us to access the funding required, and without this security, the task ahead becomes significantly more difficult.
At our meeting in November, the PCC explained that they needed to consider the costs of keeping the Hall for the additional 12 months. We responded to this with an offer to support the Hall during this time by booking regular fundraising events to cover these costs. It would appear that, despite this offer, these costs have been the deciding factor, and the PCC have been unable to find a way to meet the group halfway, and work together to achieve our shared ambition of keeping the Hall open for our community.
While this outcome is obviously very disappointing and presents us with a significant setback, we are determined to continue to explore every avenue possible to secure the Hall for future generations, despite the enormity of the challenge ahead. We have the support of our community, our local councillors, our MP and a number of other organisations, and will not give up until every possibility has been exhausted.
