Hubs, Halls & Shops
Find a hallHalls, shops, community centres, and libraries are all examples of ‘community hubs’–places at the heart of a local area where people socialise and access services and supplies. But running these facilities is often done voluntarily. We offer support services for those who help to keep community hubs open and accessible to all, including practical advice, training, and free resources.
Halls
Bringing in local revenue and contributing to a vibrant sense of place, community halls support a wide range of activities —whether that’s games clubs, dance classes, parties, or committee meetings.
Community Halls Directory
Are you looking for a venue to hold an event in Oxfordshire? With over 280 halls across the county, there is bound to be a venue to suit your needs, and you can browse halls available to hire using our directory.
View the directoryCommunity Buildings Affiliation Scheme
Need support managing a community hall? Through our Affiliation Scheme, our Community Halls Adviser supports community halls across Oxfordshire, offering advice on topics like funding, governance, and fire safety.
Join the schemeFunding
We collate and maintain a list of funding opportunities that are available to community halls in Oxfordshire.
Funding opportunities“
Without the helpful advice from Community First Oxfordshire, I don’t think our management committee and volunteers would have achieved so much. For example, we asked for advice on insurance and saved over £500. Knowing that helpful guidance is just an email, or a phone call away is very reassuring.
South Oxfordshire Village Hall
Shops
Local shops are often the focal point of communities and are vital for those who rely on them for everyday supplies. Oxfordshire now has over twenty community-owned shops–some of which are entirely volunteer run and others which employ a manager.
We offer comprehensive guidance to community owned shops, supporting them with everything from premises planning and pricing policies to environmental health and trading standards.
If your community shop has closed, or is facing a possible closure, we offer advice to people who want to protect retail provision in their local area. Get in contact with us for more information.
Assets of Community Value
We also offer support to Cherwell District groups who want to nominate buildings or land to be listed under the ‘Assets of Community Value’ provision. The provision gives communities the chance to have more control of the hubs that are important to them. This includes shops, historical buildings, green spaces, libraries, pubs and community centres. Please reach out to us for more information.
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Our sincere thanks for your support and guidance during this unprecedented time. Your informative updates are instrumental and the way you picked apart Government guidance and assisted us all in understanding them was truly appreciated.
Chalgrove Parish Council
Resources
Plunkett Foundation’s Business Planning Guide for Rural Community Businesses
Preparing a Business Plan, Writing a Business Plan, Business Plan Template
NCVO’s Strategy & Business Planning Resource Hub
Learn about how to develop your organisation’s strategy
Get in contact
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