Who are we?

We are a charitable organisation, run by our members for our members.  The Consortium was was set up to represent all village halls and community buildings of any type within the West Northumberland area and is a self-help group, run by its members for the benefit of all its members.   It is run by a management committee which is made up of volunteers from within (or closely tied to) the committees of its own members halls, and is further supported by Community Action Northumberland (CAN).

WNCBC is registered with the Charity Commission (registration number 1168006) and you can view the information about WNCBC which is held by the Charity Commission here

The Charity’s objects, as laid down in the Constitution, are:

  • To sustain and improve community buildings in West Northumberland (the area of benefit’) and the services they provide for the benefit of the local community and visitors.
  • To promote and improve the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of charitable community buildings within the area of benefit, in direct pursuit of their objects by the provision of advice, information, training and support, with a view to improving the efficiency and management of their resources.

The Management Committee has adopted the following specific aims for the Consortium:

  • Derive financial benefits for members, where possible, by using the bulk purchasing power of the Consortium.
  • Derive financial benefits for members, where possible, by joint purchasing.
  • Offer an information service and resolving issues on matters relating to community buildings.
  • Provide or initiate joint training for members.
  • Lobby on behalf of members.
  • Provide a forum for members to exchange views, ideas and best practice.
  • Enable Community buildings to have a higher profile in the community.

The aims and organisation of the Consortium are governed by its Constitution, which was adopted on May 14th 2008 and amended in June 2016. The full text of the Constitution is available here.  

A full list of the benefits of membership can be found here