As Trevor steps down from his role of Chair of South Bookham SPACE after 14 years, here is his story:

“I can still cast my mind back to playing tennis at Bookham Tennis Club over 15 years ago and constantly seeing the dilapidated Keystone House next door, long deserted by the Boys Club, having become a magnate for vandalism and thinking that would make a great clubhouse.

As no one else wanted to take on this idea, I got together with a few other local people and realised that it made much more sense to create a community centre, that could also serve as BTC’s clubhouse……after all there was no other community facility in south Bookham.  

Having first created a company and charity, raising £225,000 to completely renovate what we called South Bookham SPACE and building the floodlit outdoor multi-games area, Outer SPACE, was really tough, but thanks to many generous and supportive individuals and organisations, most notably Peter Seaward of the BRA, Mole Valley District Councillors and Bookham Tennis Club, we found the funding and completed the building works in under a year.

Aside from first thinking of creating World Book Day for children in Britain & Ireland back in 1995, opening the SPACE facility in January 2012 with an old friend, Jacqueline Wilson, the famous children’s author, was one of the proudest achievements of my life.

This was soon followed by the shock of our biggest hirer, Bus Stop Playschool giving us just two weeks’ notice to quit SPACE and leaving a massive hole in our finances. However, this turned into a blessing and the SPACE timetable was soon filled with a fantastic range of activities from TinyTalk and Baby massage toddler & parent sessions to children's & adult dance & tap, a wide variety of Pilates classes, Pole Fitness and Yoga, while Outer SPACE hosted fitness sessions, 5-aside soccer, tennis, netball and basketball.

A survey, conducted in October 2017, showed that over 450 people of all ages were attending up to 18 different activities taking place each week at South Bookham SPACE and Outer SPACE. In addition, the survey reported that about 100 local children, mainly under 10, came to parties at SPACE each month. Claire Hoath, our Booking Officer for one-off hires must now have managed close to 1,000 party bookings since we opened!!!

This gave us the confidence to go ahead with the Social SPACE extension, a smaller room for meetings, classes and social events for up to 12 people, with kitchen facilities and a balcony overlooking Outer SPACE. However, finding the £135,000 funds needed was even tougher in the economic situation of 2018 and then immediately after we opened in January 2019, Covid-19 hit and we had to close SPACE altogether!

The next two-year period was the greatest challenge in the history of SPACE and our Booking Officer for Regular Hirers, Catherine Almond, had to manage through the ever-changing situation and rules. Sadly, many of our regular classes and activities ceased during and after Covid, but although it has taken some time, activities and attendances are now returning back to their pre-Covid levels.

The objectives of South Bookham SPACE are much more than managing and hiring out the facilities at SPACE: We believe in improving the well-being of people of all ages living in and around Bookham. To this end we have constantly kept our hire costs to a minimum to help our hirers, as well as helping promote their classes and activities to encourage attendances.

However, the experience of the last three years made the SPACE team focus on our costs even more than before and our biggest cost was energy. Led by Andrew Matthews, our Facilities Officer, we are therefore delighted to have just completed our last big project of installing solar panels to drastically reduce SPACE’s energy costs and carbon footprint at the cost of almost £40,000.

It is the great team of volunteers who manage SPACE, that have given me the motivation to stay on as Chair until now, and the knowledge that SPACE is safe in their hands that has given me to confidence to stand down and leave SPACE after fantastic 14 years.

As a result, the team are looking for a new Chair to help shape the future of SPACE and manage their meetings, so anyone interested in learning more about this exciting volunteering role should contact them on info.southbookhamspace@gmail.com

My wife and I love living in Bookham, so it has been a pleasure to have been able to give something back to the wonderful people who live here, especially the younger people who are our future.

My thanks go to so many people and apologies to anyone that I may have overlooked:

The great team of super-hero volunteers that manage SPACE for free in their own time;

Catherine Almond, Nancy Goodacre, Natasha Matthews, Gemma Volpe, John Chandler, Claire Hoath, Katherine Preston, Nick Williams, Toby Conant, Andrew Matthews, Richard Rees

Past members of the SPACE team including:

 Keith Watson, Jeremy Thomas, Lyn Haslegrave, Louise Furneaux, Bob Kelley, David Barlow, Matt Hoath, Kate Rice, George Howard, Gail Hard, Janet Harrison, Laura Nakano, Alec Garnham

Other great supporters over the last 14 years including:

 Tod Wilson, Lawrence Penney, Chris Browning, Jude Morton and Mike Kay of Bookham Tennis Club

Peter Seaward of Bookham Residents Association & Keith Slark of

Bookham Community Association

All past and current MVDC councillors & Clare Curran of Surrey County Council

Sally Hewetson, Andrew Heard and Helen Wilson of Mole Valley District Council

All past and current regular hirers of SPACE, Outer SPACE and Social SPACE.

All providers of funds and grants that have made South Bookham SPACE possible.

For more information on South Bookham SPACE, please visit: www.southbookhamspace.org.uk

Exciting news! South Bookham SPACE are pleased to announce that our Solar Panel Project has come to fruition.

After much fundraising, project managing and a complex installation, SPACE can happily say that the majority of our electricity is now being provided by our new solar panel system. This project would not have been made possible without funds kindly provided by The Thomas Flack Fund and Mole Valley District Council, for which we would like to thank them. It would also not have been possible without the help and support of our incredible volunteers. They all want to remain nameless, but we would still like to say thank you for giving your time and energy to help SPACE become a more environmentally friendly service.

The new extension at South Bookham SPACE has been completed and has welcomed its first activities; Ashtead Netball Club and Toni Wolf’s Breath To Move Yoga (see attached photos).

Social SPACE is large enough for social events of up to 20 people, meetings of up to 12 and small Pilates or Yoga style classes. It has its own kitchen and a balcony overlooking the Outer SPACE multi-use games area and Bookham Tennis Club courts.

To cater for all there is stair-lift access and an audio loop, plus a Smartboard and projector making it ideal for coaching and education.

Building of Social SPACE was made possible by funding generously provided by The London Marathon Charitable Trust, Mole Valley District Council, the Thomas Flack Trust Fund, Bookham Tennis Club, Garfield Weston Foundation and Bookham and Horsley Rotary Club as well as individual donations by local residents, all of which supplemented funds from the charity’s own reserves built up over the past eight years.

Major thanks also go to all those that attended the various events organised by Bookham Tennis Club which raised over £8000 towards the total cost of around £130,000.

Social SPACE has now been chosen to benefit from the Co-op Local Community Fund to help provide the furniture and fittings for the new facility. Co-op Members can choose SPACE as their local cause by going online at www.coop.co.uk/membership.

The new Social SPACE facilities are ideal for smaller classes and can be hired together with Outer SPACE floodlit multi-use games area and changing rooms to create a self-contained sports complex.

Great News! South Bookham SPACE (Social SPACE) has been chosen to benefit from the next round of the Co-op Local Community Fund from 27 October 2019 to 24 October 2020.  

During this funding phase, Co-op Members will be able to choose SPACE as their local cause by going online at www.coop.co.uk/membership. We really hope that people will visit the website and choose to support us, so please spread the news. 

Every time a member buys selected own-brand products and services, 1% of the money they spend goes to local causes in their community, so please encourage friends to become a Co-op Member. They can join online at https://membership.coop.co.uk/new-registration or in the local Bookham High Street store. 

This support is extremely welcome and well timed as the building of the new Social SPACE extension has exhausted our available funds, and will help us fit out and furnish our brilliant new facilities for the benefit of the whole local community.

The new Social SPACE will be large enough to accommodate meetings, classes and social events for up to 20 people (depending on format), with adjoining kitchen facilities and a balcony overlooking the Outer SPACE multi use games area and Bookham Tennis Club courts.

Please contact us at: info@southbookhamspace.org.uk if you want details on hiring the facility. 

The building of this first floor additional SPACE has gone well and is due to open in November: Social SPACE - large enough for meetings, events, and classes for up to 20 people - has its own kitchen and a balcony overlooking the Outer SPACE multi-use games area and Bookham Tennis Club courts.

Pic 1 & Pic 2

Showing first the partly and then the completed outer structure from the front.

To cater for all there is stair-lift access and an audio loop, plus a Smartboard and projector making it ideal for coaching and education.

Huge thanks must go to all those that attended the events organised by Bookham Tennis Club which raised over £8000 towards the total cost of around £135000.

Many and varied activities are currently offered at SPACE including:

Baby signing, Bridge Club, Japanese Book Club, Theatre Arts, Tap & Dance, Martial Arts, Paracise, Pilates, Pole Fitness, Trybe, Yoga, 5-A-Side football, Netball, Tennis and of course, a wonderful place for children’s parties!

Now similar classes in smaller groups will be able to use Social Space and to keep attracting the widest range of activities, hire charges are being kept down for the main SPACE hall, Outer SPACE, and for the new Social SPACE.

For further information visit www.southbookhamspace.org.uk and if interested in hire please email: info@southbookhsmspace.org.uk

Phase 1 of the extension to SPACE starts April with foundation columns and support steels for this first floor facility.

Phase 2 - - which is for the actual construction – needs further funds for the balance, so everyone’s support is desperately needed to raise these funds. The new Social SPACE will take up to 25 people, with its own kitchen facilities, plus balcony overlooking Outer SPACE multi-use games area and Bookham Tennis Club courts

In place already is the Quiz night on 1st May, and later the main fund raiser - the fantastic Summer Carnival Ball on 8th June, both drawing on their success of last year.

So confident are the hard working volunteers of the SPACE committee that their enthusiastic supporters will succeed again, that plans are that phase 2 will begin in July and be completed by September!

The vital need for this extra SPACE is critical since the announcement that Lower Road Youth and Community Centre is to close in August, so details of above events are below:

Join the fun and help raise the funds needed to expand facilities at South Bookham SPACE!

18th May 2019 - Quiz Night at SPACE: For details contact Lorna Lock at lornalock61@gmail.com

8th June 2019 - Summer Ball at Bookham Old Barn Hall: For details contact Chris Browning at chris.browning.uk@hotmail.co.uk

And we have opened a Just Giving account, enabling donators to claim Gift Aid.

Just click on the link: https://www.justgiving.com/southbookhamspaceltd

Thank you for your support.

Construction of a first floor extension to provide a new social meeting SPACE for classes, meetings and social events at South Bookham SPACE has received the green light from MVDC planning.

Thanks to prudent management, MVDC and Thomas Flack Foundation Grants, SPACE’s own funds with those of Bookham Tennis Club provide over half the total funding required for the project.

The new Social SPACE - large enough for 20 to 25 people, will have its own kitchen facilities, a balcony overlooking the Outer SPACE multi-use games area and neighbouring Bookham Tennis Club courts, plus a covered area for parents to watch their youngsters at play.

This will encourage greater and better use of the venue, free up the existing small committee room for much needed extra storage and give disabled access to this new Social SPACE.

NOW – we will need to work very hard to raise the essential funds to pay the balance by huge local support in general but particularly for:

SPACE Quiz Night - Saturday 12th May at SPACE

Quiz, Raffle, Fish n’Chip supper and loads of fun for £15 pp.

To reserve a table (max. 8) or individual place please contact: Lorna Lock 01372 453953/07941 786999 or lornalock61@gmail.com

Bookhams Carnival Ball on behalf of SPACE - Saturday 30th June at The Old Barn Hall. Buffet dinner, live band disco and carnival fun. Further details to follow

Due to the success of the past five years, there is a genuine need to expand and South Bookham SPACE have now developed plans to construct a first floor extension in order to provide a new social meeting SPACE large enough to accommodate meetings, classes, parties and other events with adjoining kitchen facilities and a balcony overlooking the centre’s Outer SPACE multi use games area. There will also be a covered area for parents watching their children using Outer SPACE. The existing committee room will then be converted into additional storage space for the centre’s own equipment and regular users’ equipment as existing storage facilities are not currently adequate.

The expansion will enable SPACE to cater for even more people, and we hope to gain some new regular users as a result.