The Old Police Site… Vision for the Community Hub Readers of past issues of the magazine, will have followed the news regarding the redevelopment of the Old Police site by the housing association Hundred Houses/Iceni, which will provide the village with further affordable housing and a Community Hub. As this was such an important issue ultimately affecting everyone in the village, the Parish Council took the opportunity to consult the residents of Melbourn on whether or not a community centre/hub should be built. The most transparent and proper route was to consult the entire village and not just a representative section of the community, as is widely practised elsewhere. And so a Consultation Document was drawn up and delivered to every household in the parish of Melbourn. Residents were asked whether or not they ‘thought the village would benefit from the provision of a community hub’, centrally located at the Old Police site, in the High Street. A great deal of careful planning took place to ensure all members of the community were consulted on the proposal to build a community hub and to ensure they had an opportunity to vote. Together with the views of Melbourn residents from the Melbourn Village Plan survey taken into account, the results showed a widespread desire for a ‘Village Centre Facility’.
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Your views expressed The additional comments provided by voters reflected the opinions raised in the Village Plan consultation. There was a very strong feeling that the library facilities should continue in the village, and that these facilities needed to be improved. There was also the need for a Community access point (CAP); information facilities, including Wi-Fi and Internet. There was a strong wish for there to be a central and comfortable casual meeting area for people of all ages with coffee and refreshment facilities. Other requests included a convenient access to the Parish Council Clerk on village matters, which would be of tremendous value to the village, and so the location of the parish office at the Community Hub would be beneficial. If the Hub is to become a busy centre for the village, then road safety would become an issue. A pedestrian crossing to link with the car park is being requested. The inclusion of small meeting rooms, economic and easy to hire for short, nonroutine meetings were important to a lot of voters, as was the flexibility to rearrange the floor area in the Hub in order to cater for a variety of types of usage, such as
