New safety ‘Community Hub’ to open in High Wycombe

A new safety ‘Community Hub’ is to open in High Wycombe at 10.00pm on Friday 24th September 2021.

The ‘Wycombe Sanctuary’ Community Hub is set to launch on Friday 24th September 20210 and will be based in All Saint’s Church. The doors will be open from 10.00pm to 2.00am to give ‘recovery, respite and refreshment’ for all those in need. The ‘Community Hub’ will be staffed each weekend by a team of caring volunteers.

The joint initiative between town centre organisations including HWBIDCo, Thames Valley Police, High Wycombe Street Angels and All Saint’s Church has been developed as a means of implementing support for the town’s night time economy, as well as ensuring the safety of visitors to High Wycombe each weekend.

Stephen Bobbett, from Thames Valley Police, said: ‘We are delighted to be working as part of the new safety ‘Hub’ and are confident it will represent a place of safety for some of our most vulnerable people, offering warmth, support and a friendly welcome to all those in need.‘

Gareth Morley, a curate at All Saint’s Church, said: ‘This is a vitally important project which will help those in need of extra support or anyone feeling vulnerable whilst out in the town centre. We have a great team in place to engage with visitors but welcoming more volunteers to assist on weekend evenings is also crucial to ensure longevity of the project.‘

Melanie Williams, Chief Executive of HWBIDCo, said: ‘Development of ‘Wycombe Sanctuary’ has been in the pipeline for a while, and it’s wonderful to be able to support licensed premises in the town with this venture, the night time economy is in need of a boost and ensuring that visitors to the town centre feel safe is absolutely imperative.‘

Following its launch, the ‘Wycombe Sanctuary’ will open every Friday between 10.00pm and 2.00am with a view to increasing opening hours to include Saturdays in due course.

For further information or to enquire about becoming a volunteer please contact the ‘Wycombe Sanctuary’ by emailing [email protected].

*Source of article : Press release from HWBIDCo.