Join us for an evening of music on Saturday 1 February 

Doors open at 6:00pm with music from 7:00pm until 9:00pm. 

There will be an open mic session from 6.30pm to 7:30pm followed by music from Emily Lee from 8:00pm to 9:00pm. 

Tickets, including a free brownie, are £5 and can be booked online. Coffee, cake and hot food will be available to purchase on the night. 

The Leatherhead Bonsai Club meets on the first Friday of the month from 7:30pm till 9:30pm in the hall. Membership is £20 a year with your first week free. 

Bonsai trees are more than just miniature trees; they’re a reflection of artistry, patience, and care. Whether you’re a seasoned bonsai enthusiast or just starting out, sharing the journey of bonsai cultivation is a wonderful way to connect with others whilst also being great for mental health and wellbeing.

Go to the Club’s website for more information and to sign up for updates using the form on the homepage.

We recently welcomed Stuart to the team. As our Bookings Officer, he will run our bookings system and liaise with potential hirers.

Stuart worked for many decades in the IT departments of private sector companies, most of which sold insurance. Having 'retired' in 2024, he decided that he wanted to do something that was more closely linked to the community, which working for LCH provides.

He is a volunteer at Epsom and Ewell Foodbank and Crisis at Christmas and feels that LCH shares many of the values of these organisations. He also delivers bread for an artisan baker once a week. He lives in Epsom but at one time lived off the Cleeve Road.

Stuart says "The rooms within the Community Hub provide an important facility for the local organisations and residents of North Leatherhead, and I am pleased I am part of the service."

We’re delighted with our new wooden floor in the café. 

A huge thank you to Wates Group , Pica Floorings Ltd  and Wooden Floors UK for gifting and installing it. 

Please come in for a drink, cake or meal when we reopen after Christmas at 9:00am on Friday 3 January and have a look.

We recently welcomed Julie to the team. As our Fundraising Officer, she will help us secure funding for core costs and community activities. Julie has been volunteering in The Hive since March 2024.

Julie has a background in HR and administration. She lives in Fetcham and worked at Oakfield Junior School for nine years, and prior to that for St Mary's Church in Fetcham. 

Julie says "I am excited about my new role; I love spending time here volunteering and it is a privilege to now also have the opportunity to support this amazing charity through sourcing the essential funds to continue the core work of LCH as well as for exciting future projects."

Café 

The café will be closed on Tuesday 3 December until Thursday 5 December while we install a new wooden floor.

The café will close for Christmas on Wednesday 18 December at 2:00pm and reopen on Friday 3 January. We'll be serving coffee and cake only on Tuesday 17 December and Wednesday 18 December.

Car park

This has now been postponed until February so the car park will be open as usual. The car park will be closed for three days from Wednesday 18 December for tarmacking. 

Join us for the annual LCH Christmas party on Saturday 30 November from 2:00pm to 4:30pm

Come and enjoy non alcoholic mulled wine and mince pies in good company.

See Santa in his grotto and join in the dress-up nativity while singing along to the New MUGs. Buy your Christmas presents at the craft fair in The Hive or at the B@titude table top sale of Christmas bits and new toys and clothes in the hall or take your chance in the raffle.

Please note: the café will be closed on the day to allow us to set up for the party.

The Advice Café is a free drop-in hub for advice on important issues, including debt, benefits, health and wellbeing, and employment and skills. It takes place in the café every Thursday between 9:30am and 11:30am. 

Thanks to an award of £1,000 from Surrey County Council's Warm Welcome Fund, everyone who visits the Advice Café between 1 November 2024 and 31 March 2025 will be offered a £5 Pay it Forward voucher.

Thank you to all our supporters

We are very appreciative of all our supporters who make sure that we can provide  all our activities. Especially thank you to Tim Hall for funding the Family Feast for six months and helping with the costs of the Clements Mead event.

In April 2024, LCH was invited by The Leret Partnership to participate in and contribute to the Transform Leatherhead Design Review Panel as part of developing its proposals for The Swan Centre and Bull Hill. 

Design South East, a registered charity that specialises in this field, formed an expert panel made up of six independent design professionals and five members of local and community stakeholder groups. The Trustees of LCH nominated Michael Williams of the Trustee Board to represent LCH on the panel. So far, Michael has been to the two Design Review workshops held in May 2024 and July 2024. The panel members have all actively shared their thoughts, ideas, recommendations and concerns related to the proposed development.

The Design Review process and discussions continue. It is planned that the panel will meet again in late 2024 or early 2025, prior to the design being finalised and the planning applications being submitted.

We’re looking for some help in our wellbeing garden this Friday the 8th of November from 10:00am to 12:00 pm or however long you’re up for. 

It’s time to lay down some mulch to enrich the soil and nourish the garden. We have two big bulk bags of mushroom compost which need to be spread out as topsoil. 

Can you help at all or do you know anyone who might?

Do you have experience as an administrator or as a fundraiser, and would you like to work in a friendly team with a heart for the local community?

We are recruiting for two part-time roles at LCH: 

• Bookings Officer (6 hrs/wk) to run our bookings system and liaise with potential hirers. Click here for more information about this role.

• Fundraising Officer (8-12 hrs/wk) to help secure funding for core costs and community activities. Click here for more information about this role.

If you are interested in applying for either of these positions, please send your CV and a cover letter (no more than 500 words), explaining why you're interested and how you meet the job requirements, to hello@lch.community.

Closing date: 31 October

Our newly opened meeting room is a light, open space ideal for small meetings (up to eight people) and one-to-one advice or counselling sessions. It is available to hire on weekdays from 9am and Saturdays and has a whiteboard. 

We still have the old meeting room which has been renamed ‘The Office’ and other rooms available to hire.

If you’re interested in hiring a room at the Hub, please have a look at the Room hire page then fill in the booking enquiry form to let us know your requirements.

• Make an advent calendar at The Hive’s Monday craft workshop from 10:15am-12:15pm from 14 October for four weeks (with a break for half term). We’re running the same workshop on Monday evenings from 6:30pm-8:30pm for those who can’t make the daytime. Sessions will be £7 per week, including refreshment. These sessions are not drop-in so email hello@thehiveleatherhead.com to reserve your spot. 

• We’re holding a Christmas craft evening on Saturday 23 November from 6:00pm-9:30pm. Tickets cost £3.50 and include festive refreshments. Crafts are extra - you can choose as many as you like from a selection and pay as you go. Over 12's welcome if with an adult. Booking is essential - email Marion or come into the café to reserve your place.

• On Saturday 7 December join us for a wreath making workshop from 10:00am-12:30pm Tickets cost £15 and booking is essential. Email hello@thehiveleatherhead.com to reserve your place.

And don’t forget to put the LCH Christmas event on Saturday 30 November in your calendar. See Santa in his grotto, buy Christmas bits for children at the B@titude table top sale, browse the craft stalls in The Hive and enjoy good food and company.

We’re partnering with Freewheelers Theatre and Media Co to host a Carnival of Kindness in the form of a colourful lantern procession on Friday 29  November at 5-7pm on Kingston Road Recreation Ground, followed by warm drinks and nibbles in the hub. Each lantern will celebrate the daily acts of kindness between friends and neighbours that make the community of North Leatherhead.

Share your acts of kindness

We need YOU to share your stories of kindness, no matter how big or small - whether it’s an act of kindness you’ve done for someone else, generosity you’ve witnessed, or something someone has done for you! You’ll see a box in the hub with ‘Acts of Kindness’ on it alongside some postcards - please take a moment to share your stories.

Make your own lantern

Join us for free lantern making workshops and help make as many lanterns as possible!! Come solo, with your children, or bring a friend! Dates below:

At The Hive (with a free lunch!):
Friday 18 October, 10:00am–12.00 noon
Friday 15 November, 10:00am–12.00 noon

At the Lighthouse, Leatherhead Parish Church Hall:
Friday 11 October, 10:00am–12:00 noon
Monday 28 October, 10:00am-12:00 noon
Monday 28 October, 1:00pm–3:00pm
Tuesday 29 October,10:00am–12:00 noon
Tuesday 29 October, 1:00pm–3:00pm 

We teamed up with Therfield Eco Group and Mole Valley District Council to do a community litter pick in North Leatherhead. 

Carley (LCH) and Emily (MVDC) visited Therfield to discuss what the group thinks is needed in the community for the environment. The students had many great ideas, and to kick things off, organised a litter pick followed by cake in the café!

If there are any local residents passionate about the environment and wish to do something in the community, please reach out to Carley at carley@lch.community.

We're holding another table top sale of new and pre-owned clothes, toys, household goods and bric-a-brac on Saturday 26 October from 12:30pm to 2:00pm in the hall. 

Have a rummage, grab a hot or cold drink and cake (or even lunch!) at the café and enjoy yourself!

Free entry for buyers. Sellers' tables are £10 each.

*Unfortunately we have had to cancel this event*

Everyone’s welcome at our quiz night on Saturday 12 October from 6:45pm.

Gather your friends and form a team of up to eight people or join a team on the night. Tickets are £12 and include delicious  lasagne, garlic bread and salad. Feel free to bring your own non-alcoholic drinks.

 Buy your tickets in the café now!

Clarion Futures starts a fortnightly Employment, Training and Skills drop-in session from 9:30-12:30 on Thursday 26 September in the new meeting room at LCH (just off the back of the café). 

Come along for advice or support with job applications, career planning or just an informal chat about future options. Any questions or to find out more , please email Hannah.

A confidential space to share, listen and connect...

In partnership with the Mary Frances Trust, we're offering a welcoming, confidential space for men hosting peer support whch will run weekly on Thursdays from 5 September at 7:30pm to 8:30pm.

No booking required, drop in and share what's on your mind or just show up and listen - no pressure, just support.

Our next table top sale of clothes, toys, household goods and bric-a-brac is on Saturday 31 August from 12:30pm to 2:00pm. 

Have a rummage, grab a hot or cold drink and cake (or even lunch!) at the café and enjoy yourself!

Free entry for buyers. Sellers' tables are £10 each.

Join us on Saturday 17 August from 7:00pm to 8:30pm to play board and/or card games in a relaxed setting. You're welcome to bring your own favourite game and any soft drinks and light snacks you fancy. Over 16s only. 

This is a free event so no need to book, just turn up. We hope to see you there!

Any questions, please email Naomi.

We're sorry that the café will be closed on Saturday 10 August.

Unfortuntely we just don't have enough volunteers to be able to open on this occasion.

If you would like to volunteer with us in the café (or elsewhere at the hub) please email us at hello@lch.community.

Even though it is rated 'Outstanding' by Ofsted and greatly needed and well loved by the wider community, All Saints Preschool was recently in a very precarious financial position.

LCH and others helped to put together a recovery plan and we are delighted that, due to the amazing generosity of the local community, the Preschool will no longer be closing. Furthermore, five new trustees have volunteered their time and skills to help secure the long-term future of the Preschool. See the press release for further details.

All Saints still has some spaces available for September. For more information, please contact admissions@allsaints.co.uk.

Everyone's welcome at our annual summer BBQ from 2:00pm to 4:30pm on Saturday 27 July. 

The New MUGs will return to entertain us with their ukelele music, the Preschool will be holding activities for children in the main hall and running a tombola, and there will be a raffle and the usual great food and company.

Please note, the café will close at 12:00 on the day to allow us to prepare.

It was with joy and sadness that Kitt left the café on Saturday 29 June for his next adventure. Kitt has long been a fundamental part of the café - he started volunteering before we were open to the public! Rachel's right hand man, Kitt has a heart for the community. If you have had the pleasure of one of Kitt's handmade coffees you will know he is a super barista. 

He has established and run the family feast for the last year and a half and we are very pleased he will still be around for that and men's curry night.

A huge THANK YOU to Kitt for all that he has given to this community and the café. He will be very much missed by everyone.

Have you ever thought about learning to play bridge but couldn't find a welcoming group? 

Do you want to try something new and meet like-minded people in our community? 

Join us from 1:00pm to 3:00pm on Thursday afternoons from 11 July for free bridge sessions. All ages are welcome and sessions are led and paced to suit the group.

We raised almost £25,000 of the £30,000 target for the building project to improve the main hall. But it's not too late to contribute to our appeal and save us having to dip into our reserves.

Adrian and Charlie (pictured with Ben, our caretaker/assistant manager) are due to start work on this on 23 July with works due to be completed by the start of the new school year. The works will include new toilets, an office for the preschool and a meeting space accessible from the café which will be available to hire. 

During this time, the café will remain open and regular events, such as bingo and yoga, will continue but there will be no other bookings in the main hall.

A big thank you to the following for their support

• Leatherhead Lions paid for the new gate from the recreation ground into the café.

• Toyota (GB) plc donated £1,500 for the Friday Film.

• The UKSPF Community Hall Energy Efficiency Grant Scheme has awarded us £5,400 to pay for new double glazing in the Hive which will be installed before the winter.

• Everyone who has helped us out.

Find out more about our supporters >

We're here for the long haul!

We've now signed the 25-year lease on the whole building from Mole Valley District Council!

Signing the lease means we can now concentrate on improving the building including the new meeting space and toilets for the Preschool off the main hall.

If you are able to make a donation - big or small - to this building project please visit our Just Giving page. 

It's two years since we opened and there is already so much to celebrate! LCH has become a much valued part of the North Leatherhead community for people of all ages to connect, learn, have fun and find the support they need to thrive.

• Our friendly and affordable café has become a second home and support network to many, with over 1500 visitors a month.

• We've built a wonderful team of seven staff and over 50 volunteers who look after the Hub and run events.

• 32 local groups and organisations regularly hire the Hub, helping to build community and reduce social isolation.

• The Advice Café, Community Fridge, and Foodbank have provided food and other vital support to over a thousand local residents.

But this is just the beginning.. After careful preparation, our Trustees have agreed to take on a 25-year lease for the whole building. This means we can invest in a new meeting space and toilets for the Preschool and all the other community groups and local residents who use the Hub.

By 15 May, we had already raised £65,000, just over 80% of our £80,000 target. Please help us to raise the rest by the middle of June by donating now.

We're holding another table top sale of new and used items on Saturday 29 June from 12:30pm to 2:00pm. 

Come and bring your friends for a look and a rummage, grab a hot or cold drink and cake (or even lunch!) at the café and enjoy yourself!

Tables are £10 each. If you want one, pop into the café to book!

Carley, our Community Development Worker, reports on what she's found out

From my conversations over the past months, I've identified some key priorities from residents. These include:

• a desire for more activities and safe spaces for children and young people

• overcoming challenges faced with housing

• the importance of spaces that encourage good mental health.

Alongside these priorities is a strong feeling that people in North Leatherhead look out for each other - there is always someone there if you need them. With a long history of supporting one another, collectively we can work towards achieving what we want to see in our community. 

Ruth Smith on organising the Save the Post Office campaign

Unfortunately the North Leatherhead Post Office has now closed but, even though we did not achieve the desired outcome, we succeeded in many other ways.

Firstly, in a very short amount of time, we made two multinational companies sit up and listen. We had a meeting with the regional representative of the Post Office and a personal response from the Chief Executive’s Office of Tesco, who own One Stop. Just getting these organisations to explain their actions and reasons is a huge success.

Secondly, and more importantly, is the difference the campaign made to our community. It galvanised people into making a stand – we came together and collectively gathered over 500 petition signatures and 200 survey responses.

On Friday 26 April, we held our first Girls' Night Out in the café. 

Fuelled by mocktails, Nozeko and nibbles, we came together to chat and play games including the hula hoop game (ask café manager Rachel for details...) and Pictionary.

It was a great chance to catch up and meet new people in a calm and welcoming space!

If you would like to help arrange another girls' night or other event, please let us know at hello@lch.community.

Enjoy an afternoon filled with fun, laughter, and plenty of springtime joy! 

Join us for a blooming good time at a community fun day organised by the Surrey County Council at the Hub on Saturday 18 May from 12:30 to 4:00pm.

Indulge in delightful high tea refreshments and dive into free crafts, games and activities including a digital graffiti wall. Come and dance with The Jam Place and meet Hammy the Hamilton House Hippo!

Seize the opportunity to connect and laugh with neighbours, friends and family.

It's totally free so secure your spot now! 

The Hive will be closed for two weeks from Monday 29 April for maintenance and cleaning, and for staff holidays. 

Sorry for any disappointment. We try not to close our doors too often but have a lot of jobs to do and also need a little break.

We will reopen on Monday 13 May. 

External bookings for the Art Room will continue as usual.

Join us for a celebration of what we have achieved over the last two years and the launch of our new fundraising campaign on Thursday 2 May, 6:00-7:30pm. 

Enjoy drinks and canapés with supporters, friends and volunteers in our thriving community centre. Find out about our new building project to create a new community space and  how you can support the local community financially and in other ways.

Please let us know if you would like to there by emailing hello@lch.community.

Our Easter egg hunt was a great success and generated a real buzz in the café. Thank you to Toyota for donating the eggs.

We've got loads of other great events coming up but we need volunteers to help organise them. For example, you could:

• Help with the next table top sale on Saturday 29 June. 

• Help organise our summer BBQ on Saturday 20 July.

• Be an elf at our Xmas community event on Saturday 30 November.

If any of these appeals to you, email us at hello@lch.community.

As the café celebrates its second birthday, we welcomed Linda, our new community chef working three days a week.

Linda’s 40 years’ experience in the hospitality industry includes working in schools, corporate dining rooms and even cooking for royalty!  Her hobbies include climbing mountains and hiking the Inca trail.

Her passions for food include baking, curries and (to Rachel’s delight!) Italian. We‘ll be working on specials for the week so keep an eye out for some delicious new items on the menu. 

We thank the National Lottery Community Fund for funding Linda’s role.

In partnership with All Saints Preschool and Home-Start, we're now running separate toddler and baby groups for 0-3 year olds on Mondays during term time. Joycey (in the photo) is running the toddler group and Emily is running the baby group

Children can play, learn and explore through a variety of activities and toys. And there's free tea and coffee!

The toddler group is at 9:30-11:00am with the babies group at 1:15-2:45pm in the café area. Each session is £1.50 and there's no need to book - just turn up on the day.

Leatherhead Community Hub is supporting local residents who are fighting to save our local post office on Kingston Road. Decisions are being made about these vital services without direct consultation with those impacted within the community. Residents of North Leatherhead want to be heard. 

Ruth Smith, one of our café volunteers and now campaign organiser, said: “This will be so detrimental in an area with many older, disabled, and disadvantaged residents who would struggle to access the town centre post office. The loss of this essential, local resource would put another nail in the coffin of a once vibrant community, which has already lost the children’s centre, local pub, and pharmacy.”

Read our press release and get in touch with Carley at carley@lch.community if you would like to join the campaign.

Would you be willing to volunteer some time?

We're looking for your help with the LCH garden. If you could give a couple of hours once a month on a regular basis that would be hugely appreciated. 

We're planning to tend to it every second Friday of the month from 9.30am to 11.30am followed by a well earned coffee and cake!

It just takes a small team of three or four to make a big difference. You don't have to be hugely experienced as there will be someone there to guide the team each month. 

If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer pop along on Friday 8 March to meet the team and grab a form or get in touch by email: hello@lch.community and we can get you signed up!

You may have seen that the Post Office on Kingston Road is due to close. 

We're working with the community to stop this vital service leaving. 

Please fill in our survey to see how much the Post Office is used. The information will be used to put our case forward to decision makers. 

If you're local, please pop into LCH to fill in a physical copy of the survey.  

(Please note that the closure is not the decision of the staff at One Stop.) 

Do you have experience as a chef or cook? Would you like to work in a friendly café with a heart for the local community?

We are looking for someone who will work with our Café Manager, Rachel, to ensure the smooth running of the Old Schoolhouse Café, including preparing high quality meals for our customers, developing the menu, maintaining high standards of food hygiene, and helping to oversee and train our amazing team of volunteers.

This is a new part-time role (18 hours/week @ £12/hour), including Tuesdays and Saturdays. See the Job Description.

If you are interested in applying, please send your CV and a cover letter (no more than 500 words), explaining why you would like this role and how you meet the job requirements to: hello@lch.community

Closing date: 14 February 2024 

We're holding a table top sale on Saturday 24 February from 12:30pm to 2:00pm. All tables are now sold out so there should be plenty of bargains to be had!

Come and bring your friends for a rummage and maybe have a coffee and cake while you're there.

End Stigma Surrey and Mind are hosting a table at our advice café this Thursday, 1 February, from 9:30am to 11:30am for Time to Talk Day.

This is a chance to come along to a safe space to talk about your mental health and  have an informal chat to our lived experience champions. 

Come along for a chat and a cuppa!

Many thanks to local food and drink marketing agency jellybean for giving us two Mac computers. Your support is much appreciated!

Follow @jellybeanagency on Instagram.

Find out how you can support us >

Leatherhead Common Post Office (in the One Stop on Kingston Road) will be closing in March 2024. See more information on the closure.

We're holding a meeting to plan how we can keep this important service for our community at 2:00pm on Tuesday 23 January in the Old Schoolhouse Café. 

Please come along and have your say.

Christmas event

Our Christmas event will be on Saturday 16 December between 2:00pm and 5:30pm in the café. Join us for carols, a raffle, a Christmas fair at the Hive, and food and drinks. The nursery will be hosting children's fun activities in the hall and the New Malden Ukulele Giants will be back to entertain us after their great performance at the Summer BBQ.

Christmas closure

Please note that the café will close for Christmas on Thursday 21 December reopening Wednesday 3 January. We'll only be serving coffee and cake on Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 December.

If you would like to volunteer at our café, please email us at hello@lch.community. We'd especially like to hear from you if you can help out on a Saturday.

LCH was featured in the recent Pulling Together conference organised by Surrey Downs Health and Care Partnership, including keynote speakers such as Lord Crisp and Sir Chris Ham.

As well as showing this video, participants heard about the vital importance of community centres like LCH in helping to tackle social isolation and improve people's health and wellbeing.

Let's spread the joy of reading!

Already filled with books, our Little Free Library is free for everyone to enjoy.

If you see a book you'd like to read, take it. When you've finished with it, share with a friend or bring it back. If you have a book to share, please bring it along and choose another.

We're very excited to welcome Carley Timerick, the newest member of our team. Carley is the Community Development Worker for North Leatherhead, thanks to a generous grant from Mole Valley District Council. Her role is to build strong relationships with local residents, to uncover their knowledge, skills, experience and enthusiasm, and encourage the use of these strengths to help build a stronger, more resilient community in North Leatherhead. 

Before joining LCH, Carley worked in a range of campaigning, organising and research roles for other charities, including in refugee camps in Greece and the West Bank. Her drive has always been to amplify people's voices and facilitate collaboration.

She'll be spending the next few weeks and months getting to know North Leatherhead and having lots of conversations with local residents and community groups. Please look out for her in the café and say hello!

We're starting the Chatty Café scheme on Friday 3 November. 

The 'Chatter and Natter' table is a wonderful way of encouraging people of all ages to talk to others. It creates a space for people to talk for five minutes or for an hour of good conversation.

Come along and grab a coffee in the Old Schoolhouse Café and have a chat with one of our volunteers between 11:30am and 12:30pm every Friday. 

Having a chat can brighten someone's day!

Would you like to help us improve our website? 

We're looking for your feedback so we can make some improvements to the site. 

We want to make sure that our website has everything you need to know about LCH from who we are and what we do to how to participate in our activities.

Please take a couple of minutes to complete this short survey and tell us what you think.   

Rachel, our Café manager, is off to Australia to see her family and for a well-deserved holiday. We want to give our volunteers some time off as well, so we'll be closing on these Saturdays while she's away:

• 23 September

• 30 September

• 7 October

• 14 October

The Café will be open as usual Tuesday to Friday, 9-2 pm, serving delicious coffee, cakes, and the usual menu.

If you would like to volunteer at our Café or elsewhere at LCH, please get in touch at hello@lch.community. We're particularly looking for volunteers who can help out at least once a month on Saturdays.

We are looking for a friendly and approachable person who is good at listening to, motivating and developing others.

The new Community Development Worker will work with residents to bring about positive change for North Leatherhead by developing local leaders, stimulating community-led activity and facilitating residents' engagement in decisions affecting the community.

This is a new role, which is initially funded for two years by Mole Valley District Council and LCH. See the full Job Description.

If you would like to apply, please send your CV and a cover letter (of no more than 600 words), explaining why you would like this role and how you meet the job requirements to: hello@lch.community

Closing date: 13 October 2023 

LCH ran a free Soft Play Zone in the Main Hall for under 5s and their parents on four separate days over the summer holidays. 

Funding from MVDC allowed us to hire lots of equipment and toys including a ball pit, rollercoaster, didicars, giant lego blocks, slides and soft play sets. 

There were plenty of opportunities to play, learn and explore!

We were very grateful to have the support of the team from Liquona, a video production company based in Leatherhead. They worked relentlessly on the outside of the building: washing and painting walls, pulling up brambles, planting wheelbarrows, and digging up hard ground to try to rescue a tree. The power tools came out and a lot of old metal and wire fencing went in the skip! 

Thank you, Liquona - you made a huge difference to us that day, as we continue to make all the spaces at the Hub as useful and beautiful as they can be.

We had a great time at our Summer BBQ on Saturday 15 July. Even the weather couldn't dampen the spirits of our amazing community!

The New Malden Ukulele Giants had us all singing and dancing along (including to a hopeful Sunny Afternoon!) while the café served amazing cakes and drinks and the BBQ kept us well fed with mouth watering burgers and sausages. The 40 raffle prizes which ranged from vouchers to cuddly toys via champagne, toiletries and many more were very welcome. 

Many thanks to everyone for coming, and to all our volunteers and supporters for making it happen.

At LCH, we want to create a safe and welcoming space for the North Leatherhead community. A year after opening, we asked people visiting the Old Schoolhouse Café what they thought.

All of our customers like the look and feel of the place and think that there is a strong sense of community. Practically all find the staff and volunteers friendly, believe it is affordable for them and their family, and think there is a good choice of food and drink. Nearly half visit the café more than once a week with 70% of our customers living in the local KT22 postcode so we are really supporting the local community.

Thank you to all our wonderful customers who completed the survey, and to Luca and Chloe for designing the infographic posters. See what we found out.

A huge welcome to our new Caretaker/Assistant Manager, Ben. You'll be seeing him around LCH helping with maintenance, as well as liaising with hirers and contractors. Ben's appointment has been made possible by a grant from The National Lottery, so a huge thank you to them for this much needed addition to our team.

We are also looking forward to appointing a Community Development Worker in the Autumn, with the help of another generous grant from Mole Valley District Council. Watch this space!

We believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. Therefore, LCH is now an accredited Living Wage Employer. 

This means that every member of staff working for us will earn a real Living Wage. This is higher than the government's National Living Wage and an independently calculated hourly rate based on the actual cost of living. 

Find out more about the Living Wage at www.livingwage.org.uk.

A special mention to Simon Littlefield and his team from the local NHS Trust who did the Conqueror Lands End to John O'Groats virtual challenge. They cycled the equivalent of 1,084 miles to raise £650 for our Pay it Forward scheme. £5 buys a free lunch for someone under the scheme.

Tom, Claire and Rachel ran 10K in May, eventually raising over £2,500 to help us put on more events for the local community. A huge thank you to the runners (and fundraisers) from Nationwide Building Society and Toyota, and to the Rotary Club of Leatherhead for organising the run and encouraging us to take part! 

We are looking for a hard-working, honest, dependable, self-motivated, and friendly person to help with the smooth running of the building and facilities at the Leatherhead Community Hub.

Reporting to our Centre Manager, Rob, the new caretaker/Assistant Manager will provide an on-site presence throughout the week, which will include liaising with hirers and contractors, security and general maintenance.

This is a new role, which is being funded for the first three years by The National Lottery Community Fund. See a fuller Job Description.

If you would like to apply, please send your CV and a cover letter (of no more than 600 words), explaining why you would like this role and how you meet the job requirements to: hello@lch.community

Closing date: 5 May 2023 

Dear Wonderful Supporters

We want to say a huge thank you for your support, interest and involvement in the Leatherhead Community Hub!  It has been a whirlwind first year since the Open Day on March 12 2022. The Old Schoolhouse Cafe has far exceeded expectations and is loved and appreciated by so many. It has become an important part of life for many in North Leatherhead and the surrounding area, giving opportunities to volunteer, and a safe space to meet up with friends and find such a warm welcome from Rachel and her amazing team of volunteers.

We have been able to host some fantastic community events and started a series of monthly community events to appeal to people of all ages, including the Family Feast, movie nights, afternoon teas for older members of our community, and soft play for under fives.

We estimate that we are receive at least 2,500 visitors a month to LCH to take part in these different activities, use vital services, or come to the Cafe. And, we regularly hear stories of how the Hub has enabled individuals to make friends, regain confidence, and offer opportunities to learn new skills. This is what LCH is all about.

We are thrilled that our Partners - the Foodbank, Community Fridge, The Hive, Citizens Advice Mole Valley, Gathering Church, All Saints Preschool, The Molebridge Practice, and Links 2030 - are doing such an incredible job, using the space to support the local community. It is so rewarding to see partnerships developing with great ideas and initiatives, such as the weekly Advice Cafe on Thursdays. We feel privileged to be working together with such great organisations to strengthen the local community. 

Thank you again for all your support and generosity that has helped make this possible, as we look forward to another exciting year ahead.

Since opening in March. we have now welcomed over 10,000 people to the Hub to chill out at the Old Schoolhouse Café, be creative in The Hive, visit the Community Fridge or Foodbank, and join in one of the many other activities and events going on at The Hub.

We organised a Community BBQ in August and held a Bright & Light Party for the children at the end of October. Our next big event is our Christmas Party on Saturday 10 December, with food, entertainment and children's presents from Santa's grotto.

We are also running free movie night and community meals from November, using the café space to offer a warm and welcoming space for the local community, especially who are struggling with rising energy bills.

Please pop in to our friendly community café, which is open every Tuesday-Saturday from 9am-2pm, and find out what else is going on at the Hub.

In October, we had a team of 14 volunteers from Just Group and Leatherhead Rotary, helping out in the garden. They worked hard to plant bulbs, lay mulch, and clear the bin area and debris around the car park. All this was done in good spirit despite the bad weather.

In their words: "Thank you so much for hosting us. There is huge satisfaction in the team about what we achieved."

It has been so encouraging to meet representatives from local businesses to share the story of the Hub so far, and we look forward to developing mutually beneficial partnerships. Once again, we are so grateful for the support offered.

Following the Open Day earlier in the year, LCH's first community BBQ in August was a fantastic success. The Hive was set up as a creative market selling all kinds of wonderful arts and crafts, the café was open serving amazing cakes and drinks and the smell of the burgers and sausages was irrestible.

It was such a pleasure to have the band Phoenix playing in the Courtyard. They last played at this venue when it was a social club a few years ago, and they helped create a wonderful atmosphere, ending with a joyful rendition of Sweet Caroline. 

So many raffle prizes were donated and we are as ever so grateful for all those who helped make the day the success it was. The donations from Tesco and B&Q was very much appreciated.

In the first week of August, we were joined by a team of 50 volunteers from Toyota and Nationwide, who helped re-decorate the main hall at the Hub. This is used by the Pre-School during the week and hired out by local residents and community groups in the evening and at weekends. Helen, who came along with her husband to help, loved it so much that she is now volunteering at the Cafe. 

A big thank you to everyone who have their time and energy, helping to transform this space from a tired-looking dark blue to a light Aloe green and misty grey (chosen by the Pre-School staff to create a calming atmosphere for the children.)

Thank you also to the Leatherhead branch of Brewers, who donated over 50 litres of paint!

We are excited to announce the opening of our new cafe. Come and enjoy great coffee, home-made cakes, paninis, baked potatoes, and more - all at reasonable prices. Everyone is welcome.

Opening times are: Tuesday to Saturday 9am-2pm.

We look forward to seeing you.

It was wonderful to see LCH crammed full on 12 March for the official opening of the building. We estimate that between 300 and 400 people came through the Hub, meeting neighbours, finding out about our partner organisations, engaging with the arts project and children's activities, and enjoying the live music at the end - thank you to Kat and the band!

The weather was gorgeous, which really helped as people were able to spill out into the courtyard and garden and relax with friends. Greg and his team did an incredible job catering for the event, whilst Mandy and the All Saints Pre-School team were wonderful in keeping the children entertained in the main hall. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard.

Seeing so many people there was beyond our expectations, and it was exciting to see the potential of the new centre. People contributed some great ideas for future community activities, and we look forward to working together to make these happen.

We are delighted to announce the appointment of our new Café Manager, Rachel Mayhew (nee Hopper). She will be spending the next few weeks talking to local residents, meeting with volunteers, and preparing for the opening of the cafe on April 19th. If you catch her tasting coffee and sampling other cafes in the area, that is all part of the job!

Rachel is an enthusiastic and community-oriented person, with a passion for drinking coffee and making people feel welcomed and accepted. In her previous roles at Costa, as a youth worker (at The Bridge) and most recently at a local charity shop, she particularly enjoyed getting to know people and seeing them grow and develop, which is at the heart of LCH's mission.

Attention recently has been focused on the garden at the back of the Hub with a band of hard working volunteers literally getting stuck into the landscaping over a very busy weekend.

Access to a beautiful well-being garden and outdoor space for community gatherings and celebration is one of our key priorities and we're impatient to get the area developed as soon as possible. Generous support from local businesses has provided us with landscaping and plants.

Our Crowdfunder campaign officially closed in the middle of last month and, with a number of off-line donations also received and including Gift Aid, we're delighted to announce that we have received just over £90,000 to support our work for the North Leatherhead community.

When we originally set our ambitious target to raise the money for both our major building works and the employment of a Cafe & Events Manager, we scarcely believed that we would be able to achieve it. However, the generosity of the people of Leatherhead and the surrounding area has been astonishing and we are grateful to each and every person who contributed.