Arundel & South Downs MP Nick Herbert met the team responsible for the ‘Henfield Hub’ community website following news of their National Lottery grant award on Friday (24 November).

Mr Herbert supported the launch of the Henfield Hub website in October 2012. Since then, the Hub has established itself as an essential source of information for the village of Henfield and surrounding area. It connects the many local clubs and organisations to the community and shares local news.

The MP met Digby Stephenson, Editor-in-Chief, and Tony Jackson, Chairman, of the volunteer-led Community Interest Company (CIC) which oversees the Hub. They explained how the lottery award of £7,950 will support the development of the website to keep up with changes in both technology and access.

A majority of people now use smart phones and tablets rather than PCs to search the web, and use social media to see what is happening locally. For the Hub to remain at the cutting edge of community engagement, they need to build new capabilities into the website.

The work will be undertaken by developers Prompt as part of the Henfield Hub’s "Beyond the Village Website” project and will include a refresh of the look and feel of the site.

Digby Stephenson said: “The banner in the photo shows the slogan we used in 2012 to launch the Hub "Henfield @ the touch of a button". With the planned changes, we intend to make the Hub "Henfield @ your fingertips"!

Nick Herbert said: “It’s great to hear that the Henfield Hub team have won lottery funding to enable them to take the website to the next level. It’s a great local resource, and I was interested to learn about their plans and look forward to seeing the end result.”

ENDS

Notes

1. Photograph L-R – Digby Stephenson, Nick Herbert, and Tony Jackson.

2. For more information about the Henfield Hub see www.henfieldhub.com.

3. The Henfield Hub was established in October 2012 as a result of a project led by the Henfield Community Partnership to improve information available about Henfield for residents, businesses and visitors.

It is a bespoke website which was developed by Prompt Creative Consultancy, funded by a grant from West Sussex County Council.

In 2013 it won the Action for Market Towns "Towns Alive Award" for the south in the'social and community' category.

The Henfield Hub is managed by a Community Interest Company and is run solely by local volunteers.

MP congratulates Henfield Hub team on lottery award