Whitley’s ‘enthusiastic’ community come together to beat isolation following the closure of the Woolpack Country Inn

Since the closure of Whitley’s ‘much-loved’ Woolpack Country Inn - which has been a prominent feature in the village for hundreds of years - on Thursday, December 6, 2022, residents have faced loneliness and isolation.

However, to help combat this, trustees of the Whitley Community Association are actively seeking grants and donations to utilise the Whitley Community centre on Howroyd Lane, in an attempt to “replace the void left by the unceremonious closing of the pub”.

The trustees are hoping to transform the centre, which was formerly a school, into a “real destination venue”. Current proposals for the space include a community garden, social area and a community café in the unused lower basement, which will offer low cost food.

Ian King, volunteer trustee of the Whitley Community Association, said: “At the moment we have a boarded up pub in our village which looks an absolute eye-sore.

“As well as this, a lot of people are isolated, especially the elderly. The pub was their only place to socialise and meet people.

“Because of this, what we have started to do is make the community centre ‘the hub’, and we have had a lot of success so far.

“Despite everything that has happened these past few months, the general feeling in our community is that from every devastating event community spirit can always fight back to improve things.

“Something good has come out of this, we are just trying to secure all the funding needed to carry out our plans.

“Once we secure this funding it should be a fully functioning community space.

“However, we want this to be a central point not just Whitley but the surrounding areas as well. There are a lot of people who don’t have facilities.”

So far the committee members have successfully secured £46,000 in funding from Suez Communities Trust to install an accessible ramp.

Members have also applied for funding to cover decoration and roof repairs along with the proposal to run a pop-up shop.

Carole Roberts, community support delivery manager at Community First Yorkshire said ‘We have been supporting Whitley Community Centre with their funding application to the Platinum Jubilee Village Halls Fund for their remaining roof repairs.

“The fund is being made available by the government to help restore and modernise rural community buildings.

“Although this fund is now closed to new applicants, if other community buildings are looking for funding or help for their project, please contact our Community Support North Yorkshire team to discuss how we can support you.”

Throughout the funding process, Whitley Community Association said they have been “really supported” by Kirklees Council, the Mayor, Coun Masood Ahmed and Dewsbury South councillor Jackie Ramsey, with members saying that they have “gone the extra mile” over these last few months.

Coun Ramsay said: “It’s lovely to see a thriving Community Centre in Whitley, with what appears to be an enthusiastic and hard working committee doing all they can to ensure that their community can come together.

“The committee has some fantastic plans for future events and there are regular groups set up for people to enjoy.

“I believe it is really important in villages to have somewhere that everyone feels welcome. I hope they continue to go from strength to strength.”

Coun Ahmed, added: “I have been working closely with Ian and the Whitley Committee for quite some time and I am trying to help and support them through these difficult times.

“If the space can be utilised I am all for it. I believe the centre could really help improve social isolation in this area.”

The Whitley Community Centre on Howroyd Lane, Dewsbury, currently runs a community cafe from 6pm to 9pm. Then, up to 11pm, the space is open for everyone to socialise.

For more information follow @WhitleycommunityCentre on Facebook.