Whether it be covid or the devastating floods last spring, a Knaresborough charity has consistently stepped-up during the town’s time of need.

Chain Lane Community Hub was founded in 2011 when campaigners saved an aging building from being lost.

Since then, the charity has sought to position itself at the forefront of whatever Knaresborough needs.

After it was recently awarded £121,000 funding, we met chief executive Sue Vasey to find out more about its work.

The hub was previously a Leeds Metropolitan University building that had fallen into disrepair.

The university wanted to sell the building shortly after the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition came to power in 2010.

Ms Vasey and others were on the cusp of signing off on a bid to Yorkshire Forward, the then regional development agency, for funding to purchase the Chain Lane building.

But, in one of his early acts, Prime Minister David Cameron scrapped regional development agencies and the funding vanished.

Ms Vasey told the Stray Ferret:

Instead, Ms Vasey and her team went to London to pitch to the Social Investment Business, which offers financial support to charities. The result was a £640,000 grant and loan mix, which was used to purchase the site.

The Chain Lane building, which dates back to the 1940s, was originally used to house local land army teams during the Second World War.

It was subsequently used by a wide range of organisations, including the youth service, until it was acquired by Harrogate College in 1996 and later Leeds Metropolitan University.

The hub started in earnest in 2011. Ms Vasey and her team used the loan to refurbish the centre.

The refurbishment was also funded by the sale of land at the back of the site to the Wilf Ward Family Trust, which built a care home.

Form there, the community centre opened its doors in March 2015.

It has become the main community organisation in Knaresborough.

Current tenants include Better Connect, Knaresborough and Harrogate Community Support Services and the NHS Blood Service.

Chain Lane has worked with older people, economic migrants and Knaresborough Together to promote volunteering opportunities in the town.

It also offers support for those who struggle with digital devices and online servces, through a service known as Knaresborough Click, and provides volunteer drivers as part of a community transport scheme for those who cannot access public transport.

Recently, the charity secured £121,000 in funding from the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire’s high street fund to help promote free events in Knaresborough.

Charlotte McEvoy, the centre’s community empowerment manager, said the initiative was about “facilitating” the promotion of free events — not running them.

She said:

But perhaps Chain Lane’s biggest success of recent years is the way it has helped Knaresborough in its hour of need.

In September 2021, the site became a coronavirus vaccination centre — which was set up in the space of two weeks to help with the vaccination effort.

The hub and the former Lidl site in Knaresborough administered more than 200,000 vaccinations.

Ms Vasey said:

Three years later, the charity was called upon again to help residents affected by flash floods in Knaresborough.

Multiple families were forced from their homes as 54mm rainfall fell in the space of 35 minutes.

The charity, which helped with the emergency response to the floods, is still supporting families to this day, Ms Vasey said.

Part of the hub’s function in Knaresborough is being a “community anchor” — meaning they are the first point of contact for the council in the area.

This, alongside the charity’s community development initiatives, its volunteer outreach and its emergency response work means there is a lot to do.

But serving the community is the plan. Ms Vasey said: