Friends of Burgh Schoolroom - FOBS - was set up to:

· encourage social cohesion and combat rural isolation in a parish with a scattered population

· use the old Burgh Schoolroom as both a venue and a focus for this activity

Since Burgh school closed in 1875, the Schoolroom has been maintained by its immediate neighbour, the Parish Church of St Botolph’s. The Church and Parish Meeting (Burgh is too small for a Parish Council) together created FOBS and aim to:

· develop the Schoolroom as a community resource in a parish that has no public building, in particular by providing running water, toilet, kitchen and disabled access, to enable the elderly, disabled and people with young children to use it

· undertake the development in a way that meets the needs of the whole community while (a) maintaining its historic value and (b) being an exemplar “green” restoration with water saving and energy efficiency measures, “green” building materials (e.g. hemp bricks) and appropriate micro-generation

This is no pipe-dream. Over the past 18 months the schoolroom has been used for over two dozen village events, attracting more than 800 people through its doors. In 2007, 81% of households in the parish answered a questionnaire on it. All but one of the respondents were in favour of the proposed development. Furthermore, 20 clubs (sewing groups, book clubs, meditation groups, gardeners plant swaps etc) expressed interest in using the space – but only when it has been modernised.

 Additionally ‘fuel miles’ will be saved by offering people a local resource instead of their current journey outside the parish for a venue for clubs and other activities.

It has taken a long time to get to a firm proposal for extending and modernising the Schoolroom, but the journey – with its enlightenment and information dissemination – is very much part of the project.