Running a Community Building
Community buildings and community rooms can be really important, valuable places for local people to meet and do things together. Having a place to go helps people get to know other people who live close to them, and also makes it easier for groups to get together and organise things.
This section provides advice about some of the things to consider when running a community building or a community room.
Covid-19 Risk Assessments
Guidelines for risk assessing your group’s activities or your community venue during the Covid-19 pandemic
Health and safety for community groups
An introduction to health and safety for community groups run by volunteers.
Public liability and employer's liability
Information to help community groups decide if they need public liability and/or employer’s liability insurance.
Risk assessment
These books are available at the Resource Centre, to borrow or to use in the Centre.
- Community Matters: Reference Manual for Community Organisations Advisers
- Finding and running premises
- Getting greens registered
- Making space: protecting and creating open space for local communities
- Managing your community building: a practical handbook for people running buildings in local communities
- Occupying community premises
- Spaces between: Community action for urban open space
- Voluntary Sector Legal Handbook
The services listed below are not provided by the Resource Centre. These are websites and services we feel are particularly useful for small groups in Brighton & Hove, and which are not easy to find by searching the internet.
Most useful services for local groups
Services provided:
Information about social media, Information on running outdoor community spaces
Notes:
A membership organisation for community led organisations, such as Development Trusts.
Have a useful guide to using social media
Have a useful guide to managing outdoor spaces
Services provided:
Community venues, Finding volunteers, Information on funding sources, Information on rooms for hire, Mailing address, Office space
Notes:
Community Base provides office space for local voluntary sector groups. To join the waiting list for office space, email centremanager@communitybase.org
They also provide the following services for all local groups:
- Venue Search, a database of venues for hire in Brighton & Hove. After a redesign in late 2019, this database currently has very few venues on it but will hopefully get better again with time. If you run a venue, please register and add your venue onto the database.
- Volunteer Search, where local groups can advertise for volunteers and individuals can look for volunteering opportunities.
- Community Job Search, where local groups can advertise jobs
- A postal address service for £25 per year
- Free access to Funds Online, the Directory of Social Change’s comprehensive guide to grant funding trusts in the United Kingdom. To access this, email centremanager@communitybase.org
- Advice about equality and diversity
- Archives relating to Brighton and Hove local history
- Computer Recycling
- Fire Protection
- Getting outside help with design and planning
- Health and Safety Information
- Information on food hygiene
- Information on legal issues
- Information on neighbourhood design and planning
- Information on rooms for hire
- Information on running outdoor community spaces
- Insurance suppliers
- Licences to play music at public events
- Licences to show films at public events
- Paint recycling
- Portable Appliance Testing (PAT testing)
- Risk Assessment (Health and Safety / Fire)
- Tax and insurance training
Notes:
A network of community buildings managers from across the city, providing mutual support, sharing information and skills and giving a voice to those running and supporting our vital community spaces. The group meets regularly in community buildings around the city.