Combs Sewing Group

These are excerpts from a letter sent to DCC on behalf of Combs Sewing Group.

We use the Village Hall on a weekly basis to learn and develop skills and techniques in sewing, fashion and design, employing them in group and individual projects. Our members reside within the Valley, and the Hall is the natural centre for these activities, no other such group or facilities exist within a reasonable proximity.

The Village Hall, School and Chapel joint facilities are the only community facilities available to the population within the Combs. The closure of Combs School would immediately diminish the social role of the village and conspire with other contemporary factors that tend to turn the village into mere dormitories lacking social richness and the rewarding mixture of social/age groups.

The individuals and groups using the community facilities provided by the Village Hall Trust offer a range of social, recreational and adult learning activities. These groups also provide a real and reactive range of information and support networks for villagers in times of need and crisis.

Therefore, the loss of the community facility in Combs will have major detrimental impacts on the quality of life and support for Combs residents.

We are deeply concerned by the steps you are considering, given our community's tremendous efforts to ensure that the valley has a broad based community resource, and the improvement it has made in the ‘quality of life’ afforded to our community.