Party time! We’re celebrating National Lottery Community Funding for Bransholme Chat!

Back to Ours celebrates after receiving funding to keep popular community hub open!

Bransholme Chat, a project in North Point Shopping Centre run by Hull-based charity Back to Ours, has been given another three years of funding by the National Lottery Community Fund.

Open five days a week, Bransholme Chat – or the ‘Chat Shop’, as it is known locally – brings people together and helps build new friendships, reducing social isolation. It encourages visitors to chat and discuss what’s happening in their lives and their local community. There’s also a programme of weekly activities, including arts and crafts, and family events during weekends and school holidays.

Back to Ours CEO Louise Yates said: “Back to Ours is and always has been about people, and what do people like doing best? Having a good old natter of course! It’s amazing news that the National Lottery Community Fund has agreed to continue funding Bransholme Chat. This is a project led by residents. We’ve been working with local people and North Point Shopping Centre management to create a welcoming space for everyone to come and enjoy. There’s always a jigsaw on the go and a weekly game of ‘Price is Right’, alongside a programme of activities and events. So many people have said the shop has been a lifeline for them.”

Based in a former shop in North Point, Bransholme Chat officially opened in 2019, as a legacy project following Hull’s year as UK City of Culture 2017.

A resident steering group meets regularly to lead the project. One member of the group, Marilyn Milner, who is also a ‘Critical Friend’ of Back to Ours, said: “I’ve been involved with Bransholme Chat since the start. We had the ‘nose shop’ (a fun display of noses, aiming to encourage discussion and connection) during Hull’s City of Culture year, which became a community space; when it closed I noticed how it left a big hole. We needed another place for local people to come together, and Bransholme Chat has filled that gap and helped lots of residents. Continued funding is a great legacy, and I’m looking forward to everything we can do with local people over the next three years.”

To celebrate, Back to Ours is having a party at the shop this Friday, 12th September, 11am – 3pm. Everyone is welcome (dancing shoes recommended!).