About us

Thirty years of neighbours helping neighbours

Independent, volunteer-run and open to everyone who calls Harbourside home.

Our story

It started with a kettle

In 1996 a few neighbours borrowed the church hall to welcome families who had just moved to the quay. They brought a kettle, a tin of biscuits and a noticeboard.

Thirty years later the kettle is still here, along with a food bank, a youth programme, a community garden and a radio station, all run by members.

Get involved

A large family group gathered on a porch

In numbers

What members made happen last year

3,600 Food parcels
120 Events
7,200 Volunteer hours
3 Local branches

What we stand for

Four promises we keep

Written by members at our first annual meeting and still on the wall of the hall.

Read our constitution

Our values

Everyone is welcome
Whatever your age, background or how long you have lived here.
Members decide
Plans and budgets are agreed at open general meetings.
Kindness first
Support is given with dignity and in confidence.
Every penny stays local
Donations fund work right here in Harbourside.

Milestones

From a borrowed hall to a thousand members

A few of the moments that shaped us.

A community supper at a long table in a timber hall

Step 1
1996: The first welcome
Coffee mornings for families new to the quay.
Step 2
2004: The first festival
Twelve stalls and a brass band on Quayside Green.
Step 3
2015: Ground broken
The community garden opens behind the hall.
Step 4
Today
1,200 members, 18 projects and a radio station.