June 2026 saw the grand opening of the Community Link Hub in Haslemere, following a service where the building was dedicated by the Bishop of Dorking.

The opening follows a £2.5 million transformation project led by a dedicated team of volunteers. Together they raised vital funding to support the work. £1 million of funding came from Surrey County Council's 'Your Fund Surrey' (£1m), whilst Waverley Borough Council donated £400,000 through Community Infrastructure Levy funds and the Haslemere Town Council £200,000. Grants have also been received from the Garfield Weston as well as from the Benefact Trust and Beatrice Laing trusts, both of which are Christian charities. 

And Haslemerere's parishioners have been incredibly generous too, raising £200,000 through donations and events. The balance was provided by church related funds. In total, over 3,000 people across the community have given their support in some way or another to ensure that the Community Link Hub could open this weekend.

These efforts have transformed the old school building adjacent to St Bartholomew’s Church into a wonderful Community Hub, designed to meet the many and varied needs of the community. 

The building has a long history. It started life back in 1813 when the church established a school on the site, albeit the building then was much smaller than the building you see today. Back then, Church schools were known as National Schools and both the cost of the buildings as well as the teacher's salaries were paid for by the church. Incidentally, it was not until the 1860’s that local authorities began contributing to the education of Children.

Over time, this small school building was extended piece by piece. The building Haslemere residents will recognise today was, in fact, built in four phases. The first addition was the section overlooking Church Hill in 1869. Three more phases were built in the period up to 1896. By 1902, the school was overcrowded and the junior boys were moved to Chestnut Avenue, under the care of a charitable trust which still supports the church's work with younger people.

The building continued pretty much unchanged during the remainder of its life as a school. However, during the building works, volunteers did find drawings dating back to 1942 which show the office configured as a dentists and doctors surgery, leading to speculation about a possible different use that may have been planned under wartime contingency plans. 

In 1974, St Bart's school moved to its new site. The parish then took over responsibility for the Link building from the Diocesan Board of Education. Since then, the building has arguably sat under-used. 

 

The stark reality was that the building's use was always limited by its layout. Not least the very large chimney stack in the middle of the room. Previous efforts to gain permission to remove it to create a more usable space had never been well-received by planners. But, fast forward to 2022, and there seemed to be a more enlightened view from conservation and planning officers who sought to balance the needs of communities with the preservation of buildings. That coincided with new sources of community funding making this transformation possible. 

One of the biggest and most expensive challenges of the project was designing a new roof structure that encompasses all the different sections of the building. The central chimney has also been removed. And a first floor has been inserted into the building to provide a suite of three counselling rooms and a central meeting room. This will provide much needed and purpose built facilities for Crossways Counselling and Citizens Advice Waverley. Both are already operating out of the new premises. You'll find Citizen's Advice there on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, whilst Crossways Counselling are there all day every Wednesday. 

On the ground floor a spacious meeting room has been created alongside a large kitchen and office space. The Hub is fully accessible with lift access and is energy efficient with attention paid to insulation as well as the installation of hidden solar panels. Last but not least, a new and welcoming street facing entrance has been created.

The This is Haslemere team were impressed by The Hub. The completed transformation is a marvellous, bright and airy new space. It is a modern, contemporary, calm and welcoming area however it has retained its sense of history. The ground floor space is large and would serve as a great space for meetings, parties, yoga classes, coffee mornings and much, much more. Other groups already using it include a Junior Choir suitable for children in Years 3-6. They meet every Tuesday from 5 o'clock. On the second and fourth Thursday of the month, between 10 and 12, the free Hearing Clinic holds their sessions here. And at the same time, you will find a coffee morning giving people a chance to chat to others and make new friends.

People and organisations are welcome to hire the space for an extremely reasonable price and booking requests can be made online. 

However, those running the Hub are also keen to speak to voluntary organisations within our community who may be interested in using the space to help others within the town. They want to ensure that the space best serves local interests. Kari is the Parish Adminstrator and would love to hear from anyone. You can reach her at office@linkcommunityhub.org. 

They would also love to invite the community to join them on Sunday 19 July from 12 noon until 4 pm for the Community Link Hub open day. It will be a chance for everyone to see the new space. And it will very much be an afternoon of celebrations to mark the opening. There will be games and activities, food and refreshments as well as live entertainment, for both adults and children to enjoy.

Whilst this project has been just over 4 years in the making, you could argue that the basis for the Community Link Hub has much older roots. The commitment of St Bart's Church to the community has been consistent for over two centuries. On Sunday, members of the church reiterated this pledge. A plaque still exists from back in 1972 when the school was moved, stating very clearly that the Link should be used for both the Church and Community. It is this premise that has led guided the volunteer team throughout their efforts over the past four years. 

Thank you to all those involved in bringing this project to fruition.