Our ‘Link’ was a concept born from a long-term shared vision of two colleagues. When the shop unit next-door to our Saffron Walden branch became empty the plans were put to Board who agreed and the space was fully re-furbished and the Saffron Community Link opened its doors. It became a free-to-use community space for charities, non-profits and community groups.
It was a unique idea of re-purposing a space that has become a lifeline to these groups. Mostly they don’t have a dedicated place to meet or can’t afford the running costs, so this gives them a space to bring members together and host events.
With its first anniversary this February, it has now been used by over 50 separate community groups for in excess of 1,100 hours, including: Support 4 Sight, NHS, Homestart and Citizens Advice.
Find us on Facebook, or to book the space email communitylink@saffronbs.co.uk
As you’ll see below, users have found it a valuable space for their groups to meet. One day we hope to be able to extend this opportunity to other areas of the region.
Catherine, Buffy Playbus
“We have used the Saffron Community Link for our AGM, the space is absolutely wonderful – a brilliant facility and resource for the local community. It has everything you need in order to hold meetings.”
Sue Fishpool, Fundraising Manager at Accuro Care Services
"The Community Link is very valuable to us and we use it in a number of ways. One of the fantastic ways we used it was for our Jubilee party in June 2021, (the party was) located outside in the Jubilee Gardens just along from here. What we needed was a space where we could take our members to have some downtime, to be able to not become overstimulated, and to have somewhere they could have personal care inside with privacy and dignity. It's a wonderful space just down the road and we use it for other clubs as well. We also use it for fundraising and we don't have another space that is offered for free to us other than the Link.”
Liz, Support 4 Sight, a sight loss charity in Essex
“Having the Community Link is so accessible for our visually impaired people and their families. It's right in the middle of town. Really bright and airy space for us to use."
