Diggle Band Club president says it should be a community hub

A village band club president has revealed his vision for the club to become a vibrant community hub.

 John Eccles expanded his ideas  at a meeting of  Diggle Community Association when he warned many small villages nationwide are becoming dormitories for regular commuters.
 
And he said most people who move into Diggle want all the benefits of living in a small community but have no idea how to get involved in village life.

“Diggle has a relatively stable population who think they have very little in common with the people who come to live here,” he said.

“ To combat this, we need a community resource that gets ALL the village involved and starts to break down the invisible barriers that can exist.

“There are many organisations in the village doing fantastic things with very little in the way of resources and volunteers and this needs to be addressed.”

And he highlighted Diggle Band Club which, like every other pub and club in the country, is surviving in spite of very difficult trading conditions has a key role promoting community cohesion. 

“Many organisations use the facilities for meetings, fundraisers and other events but without help the club will not survive to offer this unique role.

“The club needs to change and become a community asset and attract a new younger membership who will breathe new life into the club but making sure we don’t upset existing members.”

To make the club a more attractive proposition,  he pointed to  Dobcross band and social club which has revived its fortunes and is a very successful venue used by all the village.

“Many community groups in Diggle who are having this very conversation and,  like the club,  are finding it very difficult to come up with an easy solution.”

He suggested: 

• Every Diggle community group came together up to four times a year to meet and  plan events to help generate income and secure a  future. 
• As a collective, apply for grants and support to improve  events to make them attractive to  new, younger villagers and their families.  
• Organise  a collective events calendar so they are not splitting their potential customer base.
• If they increase revenue  this could  attract funding to improve the club’s  dated infrastructure (like Uppermill Conservative Club) and make it the first stop for people who want a family night out.

He added: “ We plan to  open the club when  people want us to rather than when we want to. 

“For example, a Coffee and Cake morning for parents who have dropped children at  school and want a catch up with other parents.

“We are currently looking for any Ideas that will generate income and enable us to survive, improve out offer and enable all the village to benefit from our facilities.” 

The first collaboration is a Family Fun Fest with the help of  The Friends of Diggle School (FODS), which takes place  is at the club  on Saturday (September 28).

Mr Eccles added: “ Events like this hopefully attract families to the club so they will have a great time while getting to know other people from all over the village.

“The  reality is if we do nothing the club will eventually shut and the community will never be able to afford to open anything like it again —  a very chilling thought."

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