Cared for by a team of dedicated volunteers, Hare Hill House is a wonderful community asset for the people of Littleborough.
Strangely it is not listed, although it’s definitely of heritage interest. It’s set within Hare Hill Park and thought to contain phases of construction from at least the 1800s if not earlier.
Space for all the community
Since 2013 the volunteers have gradually repaired and improved the building to make it viable for use as a venue for community groups and activities and to support local employment. The MoorEnd Development Trust brought me on board to develop a proposal for a community café that meets their aspirations in developing Hare Hill House as a Community Arts and Enterprise Centre. With accessibility high on the agenda, my brief also included investigating the possibility of installing a platform lift so that everyone could be welcomed into the first-floor community rooms and offices.
Planning for the future
The Trust secured funding from Power to Change – Bright Ideas Fund to develop the proposals, which allowed us to look at a number of options for how the café could be configured, including a phased plan for longer term ambitions including an extension on the former conservatory site. With the costings for each option put together by quantity surveyors Appleyard & Trew, the Trust now has the information it needs to plan for the future.
