Stanwix Community Association

Stanwix Community Association is a voluntary body comprising a small group of the willing from Stanwix; representatives from Stanwix Community Pre-School; community support officers from Cumbria County Council and our two local councillors.  This surprisingly small group has been active since 1996 when the classrooms on Church Street became  redundant and were offered for community use; on condition that a suitable local body could be created to manage them. The association meets regularly. 

As we are a voluntary body, it is vital to attract new blood into our ranks to help maintain energy and momentum.  If you have any skills or enthusiasm to offer, no matter how modest you think those skills may be, you will be very welcome to join us in keeping the community association, the centre and the preschool building operating and benefitting our neighbours within Stanwix and nearby areas of Carlisle. Please contact us if you would like to get involved. (add a pop up to message Lynda)

A Notable Community Asset Comes To Life In Stanwix

Back in the noughties the Stanwix Community Association was successful in bringing a new early years building  to the site: thanks to massive support from our partners in the Stanwix Playgroup and Stanwix Allsorts club, as they were constituted at the time.  The process was long, difficult and frequently fraught; but SCA committee and supporters refused to give up. The new building went into operation in Summer 2011.

Not All Plain Sailing

An unsuccessful attempt was made to raise sufficient funds to rebuild the community hut at the same time as the early years building.  Despite not managing to bring in sufficient funding for this second ambitious project, it became possible to refurbish the hut instead.  Towards the Autumn of 2011, this programme of improvement was completed and this lovely little room for meetings and activities  has been serving the community for two decades . The room is a brilliant simple venue for groups of up to 20 to 30 people.

This period spanned the recent pandemic which saw the hut closed for almost 18 months. Coming out of all the lockdowns and separation that marked this period, the SCA brought the community together with a fun Christmas bounce back in December 2021. It was wonderful for people to have the opportunity to see Santa again, create decorations, drink mulled wine and of course, meet the alpacas.

In May 2022 the community celebrated the Queen’s Jubilee with the Mayor and Mayoress of Carlisle in attendance. They viewed the extraordinary artwork displayed around Stanwix, planted a tree for the Queen’s canopy, followed the ‘royal themed’ scarecrow trail, judged the cake competition and of course met the alpacas again.

Stanwix residents can now look forward to a viable and secure future for the Stanwix Community Association and a more stable environment for the Stanwix Community Pre-School to thrive.  You also have an excellent little venue right at the centre of the “village” for family and local events.  Please use the facilities developed by the Stanwix Community Association, for your benefit: make the hard work worthwhile.