A group that has been supporting rural communities across Staffordshire for over 64 years has decided to bring their work to an end. Members of the Community Council of Staffordshire met for the last time at Great Bridgeford Village Hall on Monday 20th August 2018 to hear about their final year’s work and reminisce.
The organisation would have been celebrating their 65th anniversary in October this year but due to various factors have decided to call time on their work a month or two earlier .
“It was a very difficult decision to take “said the current Chief Executive Chris Welch “ but the Trustees have been considering the future for the past 18 months and in light of the current economic climate ,they made the decision to carry out a managed closure of the organisation rather than slowly wither on the vine”.
The Community Council started life in the 1950s with their first meeting taking place in October 1953. Their work has been varied from supporting luncheon clubs, garden guilds, community transport, helping to set up Out of School Clubs, run training for unemployed people and helping communities develop affordable housing being just a sample of the work carried out The main groups and people supported over this time have been living and working in the rural parts of the county.
“We have carried out some amazing pieces of work over the 64 years “said Chris “and we’ve been at the forefront of many new initiatives , but we are probably best known for running the Staffordshire Best Kept Village Competition”.
The Trustees and the Chief Executive have worked hard to find the right organisations to take over the work they currently carry out. “The Best Kept Village Competition will continue into the future in the very capable hands of the Staffordshire Community Foundation, a well-known local charity and our support work for village halls and the work we do for the government, through Defra, will be handled by another local charity, Support Staffordshire “said Chris
The last meeting that took place at Great Bridgeford saw a many old faces in attendance with Chief Offices, volunteers and staff covering the last 40 years, exchanging fond memories of the fantastic work carried out by the organisation.