The Winchelsea Community Office is an organisation, run by volunteers, which initiates and assists community initiatives in Winchelsea, and provides community services such as this website, the Winchelsea Flyer (a monthly newsletter) and the Town Diary. The Community Office is also involved in local visitor management projects.

How the Community Office originated

The Community Office was originally set up (in 2004) as a community resource centre. In plain English, this was somewhere in Winchelsea, run entirely by volunteers, where community activities could be organised and from where community services were provided. It was also intended to financially support the community-owned village shop  by taking on a share of the rent of the shop building after the viability of the business had been threatened by a substantial and unexpected increase in rent.

One of the other most significant achievements of the Community Office was the re-opening of a sub-post office in Winchelsea in 2005 (the previous one having been closed in 2000). The Community Office approached and negotiated with Post Office Limited, secured grants, recruited staff and paid the rent for the first 15 months.

The Community Office also provided a raft of services:

• public access to the internet, a photocopier and fax machine
• free use of computers by clubs and societies
• a free online public information terminal
• computer courses (the only in eastern Rother)
• a stationery shop
• a community meeting room
• a collection point for consultation documents distributed by the District and County Councils, and other public agencies
• a box office for local events
• mail boxes for clubs and societies
• displays of information for residents including District and Parish Council agendas, minutes and other documents such as planning applications
• displays of guidebooks and brochures for visitors, and a list of local accommodation
• a contact point for non-residents making enquiries about Winchelsea including relatives and friends
• a prescription pick-up service for the local surgery
• co-ordination of visitor information projects including the forthcoming E-Guide

What happened to the Community Office

When the community-owned shop and post office were sold in 2007 to private owners following the sale of the building, the Community Office lost its premises and the community lost many of its services. However, the Community Office continues as a virtual service to the community.

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