The Annual General Meeting (AGM) for Staveley Community Trust will be held on 27 October 2025 at 6 pm at Staveley Institute. You can read the invitation and agenda here.
In the end our journey to secure the Abbey Site for the community was not successful but it showed how a community will rally round to try to make a difference, against the odds, to become a better place. If you’d like to remember our journey, reflect upon the challenges we faced and celebrate our successes you can read a Case Study about our journey.
The Abbey Staveley - Building community power through Community Asset Transfer
This case study has been produced by Rose Regeneration as part of our Esmee Fairbairn funded work about Community Voice. It explores the lessons learned through the journey of Staveley Community Trust to try and secure a former Cumbria County Council care home building for continued use by those in need in the community. There is some good learning here even though the great vision of the community has not been realised. If you read this case study and want to know more, please get in touch.
Westmorland and Furness have sold the Abbey building to Home Group
The sale of the Abbey Care Home was agreed at Westmorland and Furness Cabinet Meeting on Tuesday 9 September. You can find out about the terms in the Cabinet papers. It is agenda item 18. Click here and scroll down to Agenda Item 18.
Home Group will not be getting the site for free but it has been agreed to sell it to them at less than market value, linked to viability around delivering affordable housing.
There will be an open meeting on 7 October 2025 at Staveley Pavilion at 3 pm to 6pm. Click here for more information.
In 2020 the Abbey Care Home closed its doors for the last time and the residents left for good. Local people objected: they presented a 2000 strong petition. It was their Abbey, it had always been their safe future if things got tough. Cumbria CC closed it anyway.
We produced an innovative, costed proposal that matched local needs. It was so exciting we were offered a £260,000 grant to prepare for the build and make our case even stronger. We created Staveley Community Trust (a Community Benefit Society) to allow us to acquire the Abbey site.
Hugh Tomlinson, CEO Age UK Southlakeland agreed with us that the proposal ‘demonstrates perfectly what can be achieved in an active Civil Society and your template project could certainly be duplicated across the country.’
Read more about what he said about us.
As of 1st April the Abbey Care Home site transferred to Westmorland and Furness Council, who promise to revisit the decision made by Cumbria County Council to sell the building to the highest bidder.
Following, an asset review the council decided that they would sell the building to a Registered Provider (RP) of affordable houses. This decision ignored the wishes of our community as expressed in their consultation or their espoused commitment to ‘working closely with residents and businesses to help them to shape their own destiny and thrive.’ Westmorland and Furness Priorities 2023.
At the moment, we cannot envisage how the community can acquire the Abbey Site for the community. The work of Staveley Community Trust has been put on hold. It remains a community benefit society and will continue to be available to meet it’s aims as stated in the society’s rules.
Staveley Community Trust (SCT) was set up to develop the New Abbey on behalf of the community. It is now considering whether it will have a role in the community of Staveley with Ings. Anyone can be a member and be part of shaping it for a future role.
Our proposal was for 16 extra-care apartments and a hub where you can meet up with friends, have a meal and get support if you need it.