Future Vision

About
The Bridewell community hub is located in the heart of the village just 2 minutes’ walk from Odiham High Street.  It includes a mix of office space and rooms for community hire and home to the Parish Council, Community Police Constable Officer, (former) MP and Odiham Book Exchange.

In 2022, when the Parish Council agreed to accept The Bridewell and future liabilities, the decision was taken with the knowledge that the building offered far greater potential than was previously being realised.

The original Library room is a well appointed space in good decorative order with a good Wi-Fi access, a public access PC and a high specification display screen.  The new Odiham Book Exchange now use this space but only for 12 hours per week leaving capacity for other group hire.  There is also a first floor which had no uses at all.  This led to the Council’s strategic priority of “transforming The Bridewell into a community hub” and this project is very much still a key focus today.

The project aims are to:

• Provide the community with an alternative venue for hire,
• Accommodate outreach service provision to residents in a rural community,
• Maximise income to support running costs to work supports long term viability.  This includes increasing room hires and creating a new co-working venue.

The project has been progressed in stages which has allowed the Council to source external funding for each stage of works.

Improvements to date

• A Hampshire County Council transitional grant in the value of £10,000 was used to set up the new voluntary led Odiham Book Exchange.  The grant was used to purchase IT equipment, for the design of new branding and associated stationery and for training new volunteers.  Odiham Book Exchange is now a registered community interest company and run entirely by a team of over 40 volunteers with over 600 members (more than the number of users of the former Hampshire County Council run library).  The Book Exchange now rent the Library space and stock from the Parish Council through a user licence.
• Another Hampshire County Council grant in the value of £10,000 was used to repair rainwater goods and to rectify health and safety faults which were identified in a structural survey.
• New branding and signage was produced for The Bridewell Community Hub.
• Booking details for the Library Room were produced and the space is now available for hire.  This included purchasing additional furniture and a new AV screen.
• A new toilet was installed to cater for the additional footfall.
• A further Hampshire County Council grant in the value of £10,000 paid for repairs to a structural wall to resolve damp issues.  This was a very longstanding problem and it took time to find a suitable solution for such an old building which satisfied listed building consent.
•  A grant from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund close to £6,000 funded the cost of upgrading an accessible toilet and fitting a RADAR key.
• Plans were drawn up to re-develop the first floor space into a new co-working space.  A trial hot-desk period was offered while listed planning consent was being obtained.  This work is now in progress thanks to a Lottery Grant (see latest update below).