Bringing Charnwood House back into community use

Following public consultation, North Herts Council is now at a stage to ask for formal expressions of interest in running Charnwood House. We are keen to see the building brought back into use by local people, for the benefit of the local community as soon as possible – so in the meantime we are also looking for any community groups that might be interested in some sort of temporary short-term use or management of the building.

Councillor Sam Collins, Executive Member for Enterprise, the Arts and Transport and ward councillor for Hitchin Highbury where the building is located, explained: “We know the strength of feeling the local community has for us to bring the building back into use. It has taken some time to consult and consider the possibilities, but we’re pleased to say we are now working with a third party to seek formal options and what investment might be needed, to ensure Charnwood House is the community hub we all want it to be. Councillor Ian Albert has been doing a huge amount of work on this and together we have been taking really pragmatic and practical steps to make sure this building finds the right use for the residents of Hitchin.” 

Charnwood House was donated to the council by a local family for community use and became Hitchin Museum. Since the museum relocated to Brand Street (next to Hitchin Town Hall) the building had been used to continue storing parts of the museum collection but these have now been relocated, paving the way for future community use of the facility.

The council has carried out community engagement, including an open house weekend in September where interested parties could tour the property, discuss ideas for transforming the building and have their say on the historic building’s future.

There were a huge number of suggestions and ideas put forward, varying from using the building for dance classes and community workshops, to hot-desking for local start-up businesses.

Cllr Albert, Chair of the council's Hitchin Committee, added: “I welcome these proposals. We are acutely aware from local people and work done by groups like Charnwood Community Association of the importance of this building to Hitchin. While bringing it back into use, we are keen to see the historic elements of Charnwood House retained, so any refurbishment will be sensitive to the special character of the building, in keeping with its Grade II listed status.”

If you want to ensure your group is considered, either short-term or permanently, please contact us using Charnwood House as the reference or call 01462 474000 by Friday 22 April.