Cullompton - Culture and Community

Culture and Community

The town has an annual Christmas parade to celebrate the switching on of the town's Christmas lights and a festival week in the summer which includes the annual town fayre (formerly known as the Cullompton Town Picnic and Classic Car Show).

Community facilities improved during 2011, with the completion of two projects. The first was a 'community hub' called 'The Hayridge', which opened in September. The facility, which is currently open six days a week, has a public lending library and cafe with free Wi-Fi access, IT suites and conference facilities. The office space is used by Cullompton Adult Community Learning which was previously based at the local secondary school. Cullompton Adult Community Learning is run by Devon County Council and offers a range of courses for adult learners ranging from Indian Head Massage to French for Beginners. Courses are run in the Hayridge's learning suites on the first floor. The second major project completed in 2011 was the Cullompton Community centre, which opened in December. This is a 9,250-square-foot (859 m2) building created for community use with sponsorship from St Andrew's church and with grants from Devon County Council and Uffculme Environmental Fund, donations from church members, and money from the South West of England Regional Development Agency. The main meeting area has seating capacity for 180 people, and there are five further meeting rooms as well as offices, kitchens and toilets.

A major recreational area for the town is the Cullompton Community Association's fields which cover 32 acres (13 ha) in the centre of the town. The fields are used for a variety of events, which include a circus, whippet racing and a firework display. The Association is a registered charity which was formed in 1970 to provide a recreation area for the town. It purchased the fields, which are next to the riverside walk along the leat, for £11,500. The site was chosen as the water meadows needed to be maintained to help prevent flooding and it was also close to the cricket and bowling clubs. Youth activities have been provided by a youth centre called the John Tallack Centre since it opened in 1988.

In February 2008 the Culm Valley Integrated Centre for Health opened in Cullompton. The services provided at the site include: the College Surgery Partnership which is a large general practice with ten doctors; complementary therapies provided by Culm Valley Natural Health; self care groups a health food café, a physic garden and a pharmacy run by Alliance Boots. Health care is also provided by the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust, which has run a residential centre called 'The Woodmill' since May 1998. It is the most southerly residential assessment and rehabilitation centre run by the Trust in the United Kingdom, and provides rehabilitation for up to 23 adults with acquired brain injury.

Cullompton United Charities provides a number of Charitable services to residents of Cullompton. The majority of the funds come from bequests made to the parish from the seventeenth century onwards. Thirteen separate charities were combined in 1921 and then in 1953 further amalgamation went on with the Trott's almshouses, John Lanes Charity and the Charity of George Spicer combining to form the current United Charities. There are nine local almshouses which are available to local residents over the age of 55. They also offer Alpha Piperline emergency call services for the elderly, can refund up to £100 to school leavers under 25 who have spent money equipping themselves with tools, books, vocational training or further education and offer financial help needy individuals resident in the parish to help them purchase specific items. They also own a building called Community House in the town centre, where local organisations can hire meeting rooms.