What We Do
Cover image above by Mike Nicholson.
The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) team recently had the opportunity to visit The Haven Community Hub following the completion of the freehold sale to Age Concern Southend. The Hub, which is located in the Grade II-listed former Havens department store on Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, has recently secured its long-term future following a Community Ownership Fund grant to buy the building.
Designed in an Art Deco style, with the current building redeveloped in 1935, Havens department store was run by the same family business until its closure in 2018. Age Concern Southend subsequently took on the lease of the landmark building, with the aim of creating a one-stop hub of services for local residents in this prominent town centre location.
Since then, The Haven Community Hub has become a much-loved facility, offering people of all ages access to a community café and a variety of social services, including a dementia day centre, a warm space, a choir, book clubs, exercise and crafting classes, and a befriending service. In addition to over thirty activities on offer every week, the Hub also provides hireable spaces for independent businesses, not-for-profit organisations and social clubs, as well as a charity shop raising funds for Age Concern Southend.
The AHF is delighted to have supported the inspirational reuse of this landmark high street building, which combines regeneration of our changing town centres with the provision of vital and much-valued services for the community. Loan investment funds of £145,000 contributed towards essential repairs and refurbishment of the former department store, while early-stage project viability and development grant funding helped develop the initial plans for its reuse.
Now, after several years of running the hub from the site on a long-term lease, Age Concern Southend has successfully reached its fundraising goal, enabling the charity to purchase the building and secure the facility in the long term. A grant of £960,000 from the Community Ownership Fund has been matched by fundraising from a range of community sources and events, safeguarding this welcoming and empowering space for future generations.
Ownership of the former department store is just the beginning for The Haven Community Hub. Additional plans will see further repairs and refurbishment carried out, bringing currently underused areas of the building back into full use and expanding the communities the hub can support.
The charity has produced a short film that showcases the fantastic support The Haven Community Hub provides. Watch it on YouTube.
Sarah Wilson, Chief Executive of Age Concern Southend, said: “We were delighted to host the AHF team and provide an insight into the vital services we deliver for our community. Their longstanding support has been instrumental to our progress, and we look forward to strengthening this partnership as we advance into the next stage of our development.”
Matthew Mckeague, Chief Executive of the Architectural Heritage Fund, said: “The Haven Community Hub is an inspirational example of the reuse of a former department store, and we are delighted that its long-term future has now been secured. Age Concern Southend and its volunteers have done a fantastic job in reviving this iconic building to offer the community access to vital services, helping to turn people’s lives around while also improving wider fortunes on the high street. It’s a fantastic example of how a range of AHF investment, including a mix of loans and grants, alongside our advice, can transform a redundant building into a thriving asset once again.”
For more information, visit the Age Concern Southend website.
