Developing The Harewood as a Community Hub there is significant potential for expansion of the community role of the premises. 

While the first goal is to secure the future of the existing businesses for the benefit of the village, we also want to do more… 

Social Objectives – more detail:

Community Hub:

Under community ownership, we see huge potential for development of a daytime community hub, providing additional community services and activities, tackling broader social issues, such as mental health, loneliness, building community involvement, community cohesion, connecting generations, and helping to nurture and grow our volunteer network. We’ve already established a monthly quiz night, Sunday afternoon board games session, a litter picking team, and started local music promo concerts.

Annex Room/Trading area as a daytime community space: Our community survey identified interest in a pop-up post office, which could run alongside a daytime café and essentials shop. Daytime use will enable community interest groups to flourish: Craft groups, art groups, language classes, a warm hub, engaging the older, potentially more isolated cohort. There’s potentially for a post school-drop coffee shop, and work-hub facilities with fast internet to engage a younger cohort. Also potential to use the wall space in the Annex to promote the work of local artists.

Outbuildings and Yard: An externally accessed stone-built storage room and the brewery yard provides space that could be utilised for “messy” community initiatives like gardening and craftwork. For example, a village environmental team, litter picking, growing flowers, building planters and benches, to improve the village appearance and facilities. Also, craftwork activities like screen printing, epoxy resin art and jewellery-making. There’s potentially space for a “Men in Sheds” mental health support initiative. We also like the idea of local artists producing murals potentially for the back and sidewall of the pub.

Events: There is a wonderful opportunity for an annual Harewood Harvest Hopfest, using hops growing in the pub garden, to celebrate and promote our beers, complemented by other local produce, bread, cakes, jams and pickles etc. This would generating home-grown community pride, and engage with local businesses. We’d aim to run quarterly music events, bi-annual games event with Broadbottom Cricket Club, a rambling hub.

Looking after our Community:

Whilst a community pub and hub generally has a positive impact on people’s lives, we are aware that for some, alcohol can be addictive, with devastating consequences for the individual, their friends and family. We’ll have plans in place to look out for anyone for whom alcohol is becoming a problem and have contacts in place to provide support.