Jameston
Community
Association
We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who came along to our Special General Meeting and the AGM on Friday, March 13th.
More than 80 people came, and delivered a series of unanimous votes that saved the Association... and gave us the heart to keep going.
We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, and we are so very grateful for all your support.
As soon as we know when the school is leaving, we'll be holding a series of events to find out what you want to see at the hall.
We'll see you there.
The decision has been taken
The school is closing
The County Council has said that it's amalgamating Manorbier with
St Florence Primary School.
But several objections to the decision have already gone in.
We're not sure which appeals they have to consider and how they decide, but the rumour is that the Diocese of St Davids, which owns the school site, is considering a serious challenge to the closure decision.
The official closure process is about as easy to read as War and Peace... in Hungarian. But if there are no objections being considered, it looks like they hope to get everything sorted out by the end of this school year, ready for the kids to start together in St Florence in September.
On the other hand, they can't close the school while they investigate any serious objections, so if they are considering appeals we may be waiting for a few more months... if they arrange with us that school stays in the hall beyond the end of this academic year.
We're chasing the County Council for answers, because we all deserve to know what's happening. And, we don't.
In theory we could tell the school to go away at the end of July when their licence runs out. But in reality we have to be prepared to talk about extending it, if they have nowhere else to go while appeals are underway.
Throwing them out would not only waste three years of sacrifice... it would give some people the chance to say it was our fault the school had to close, as we'd taken away their temporary home at the eleventh hour.
We're going to keep the pressure on though... we need to know when we're getting the hall back, so we can start planning for the future.
If you want to appeal...
This is how, from the school governors
Working with and for local residents
A new era
Supporting our local school and community
It was over three and a half years ago that Manorbier School burnt down, and we offered our Community Hall as their temporary home.
When the school moved in just after COVID,
with just a couple of regular groups using
the hall, income was almost zero.
Back then, the future looked far from certain,
but one gleam of light in this disaster is the
chance it gives us for a fresh look at what
we do... rebuild from scratch with events or
activities that you want.
We will find out what everyone wants at the hall,
bring back things that worked well, let go of the
events that lost their appeal,
and add new activities and groups.
We're open to all suggestions and ideas, and more than ready to try out things that have not been done before. Anything is possible.
The rent for the school leaves us in a healthy financial position. So we will be able to keep our charges low, maybe with some free trial sessions.
As soon as we know details from the Council, we'll be organising community meetings to identify and plan the activities that you want and will support.
You'll be the first to know
About us
A very long time ago, the Hall was a cottage... until St James Church took it over as a Mission Room, and held services there on a Sunday afternoon, right up to the turn of the 21st Century; the old bell tower is still on the pine end.
Thanks to the foresight, expertise, and fundraising of the original JCA members, they bought the Mission, and it is now our Community Hall.
In the early 2000s, they set up the JCA as an unincorporated charity —a group of locals working together for the community.
But the suggestion has always been to grow into a CIO: a Charitable Incorporated Organisation - making it easier to own property, and to operate more professionally.
In 2025, the Charity Commission approved our application to become a CIO, so we're working on the transition from old to new.
It won't make any difference to the hall users or JCA members, but it will make life more straightforward.
The trustees
The AGM elects the Charity Trustees, and this was the 2026 election.
Chair Ray Hughes
Vice-Chair Richard Hughes
Secretary & Treasurer Jane George
Other trustees Kai Furlong Andrew John Nicola Hughes
Marie Hamnett Graham Willcocks
Our activities
The regular coffee mornings are a great way for everyone to get together and keep in touch.
Come along and meet old and new friends.
It's all free... even the raffle!
Coffee mornings are on the
2nd Saturday of each month.
From 10 am to midday
at the Emmanuel Church,
just off the main road
towards the train station.
Next ones are:
June 13th
July 11th
August 8th
September 12th
October 10th
November 14th
Next
Coffee Morning
June 13th
Giving up the hall to save the kids, teachers, and the community from any further trauma came at a high price.It meant we could not run our activities and events for almost four years.
We did what we could to support groups and events in other local venues, and we supported events for our community wherever we could.
In 2024 and 2025, we supported the senior citizens' festive lunch at the Giraldus Centre to the tune of £500, and gave £300 to support the Luncheon Club's Christmas meal.
Then there was the children's party in 2024 and lashings of sweets for the kids at Christmas 2025.
We've tried to keep in touch with our community through the regular and popular coffee mornings at the Emmanuel Church.
And looking ahead, we are pressing the Director of Education to find out when they plan to complete the process.
As soon as we know, we'll be setting up those community-wide events to identify and plan the activities that our residents want and will support.
Over 80 people turned up to the Special General Meeting on March 13th. It was called by 11 JCA members to discuss the current situation and to move to hold a properly constituted AGM.
The meeting unanimously requested Ray Hughes to run a General Meeting, which took place after the SGM.
That meeting received reports on the way forward for JCA and on the finances, before conducting elections for officers and trustees and re-running the proposals from last year's AGM
The admin section - documents and notices
And we're preparing these draft policies and procedures for when the new CIO kicks in.
They're not finalised yet, so let us know if you have any comments or suggestions.
Click on the policy you want to look at
This is where we post important documents, like the constitution.
Click the link to open it
Get in touch
Our email address
Drop us an email and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
JamestonCommunityAssoc@gmail.com
JamestonCommunityAssoc@gmail.com