Since 2019, when the decision was made to close the Abbey Care Home, people in Staveley have been working together to make sure that the village can carry on looking after its older members. Staveley Community Trust was set up so that the building and grounds can be owned by members of the community who will decide what it will deliver and how to run it.
Community
Over the last two years we have gathered views and information from people who are interested in what happens to the Abbey. Our community is committed to looking after our older residents locally. We believe that people from a small rural village should have the option to access care and housing in the place where they have grown old. Being forced to move ‘away from home’ for these services is both damaging and unnecessary.
Our proposal is shaped by community views. Our promise is to keep conversation about this development as open as possible within the community so that it can continue to be shaped by our needs.
You can see how we have been consulting the community and what people have told us so far here.
Members
The first (founder) members of Staveley Community Trust have been meeting regularly since 2019 as the Abbey Development Group. Staveley Community Trust has been set up in 2022 to hold the asset for the community, and to continue answering to its members as the project takes shape.
We are now recruiting community members to demonstrate the wide base of support for this proposal. Membership is £1. When you become a member you have a stake in the project and can vote at our meetings to make sure the project meets our community needs. Become a member of Staveley Community Trust here.
Trustees
Staveley Community Trust is a Community Benefit Society which has both members and trustees. The trustees are Fran Richardson, Deb Michel and Dave Plumb.
It is a very exciting time to join the trustee team as we forge new relationships with Westmorland and Furness Council, and, hopefully, prepare for the next phase in the development of the New Abbey.
New trustees are now being sought to add strength to the organisation by bringing experience, skills and commitment. Please get in touch if you would like to talk about this opportunity.