Community Groups

DOES COTTINGHAM HAVE A COMMUNITY SPIRIT?

There are many people who say that Cottingham does not have a community spirit.   Is this true?   Indeed you may well ask "what is a community spirit?"

Cottingham is reputedly the largest village in England and, with a population of over 17,000 people, it is certainly larger than many towns.   Is it reasonable to expect such a large number of people to have one shared community interest?

Even in much smaller villages not everyone shares the same common interest.   They all have groups for different interests.

A quick glance at the "What's On" pages of the Cottingham Times will show that there are many and varied community groups in the village, each with their own particular interest, but nevertheless all community minded.   These can be groups aligned with the churches in the village, ladies groups (WI., TWG., or other social groups), mens groups (De Luda), wildlife groups, U3A, local history and civic societies, amateur dramatic and choral societies, National Trust, scouts and guides and finally, though not exclusively, there are clubs for tennis and bowls as well as several based at the KGV Playing Fields (which is a voluntary trust), for football, cricket, rugby and keep fit for all ages.

Two other community minded groups who try very hard to involve everyone in the village are the Cottingham Lights organisations and the Cottingham Day committee.   These are independent voluntary groups who have one thing in common, to provide the residents of Cottingham with something of interest to do or to see.   They are funded by donations from the businesses and residents of the village, so if you can give a contribution towards their costs it would be very welcome.

All in all there are more than 50 voluntary groups serving the village and once a year the Parish Council invites them to nominate representatives to attend a social evening, usually held in the Darby & Joan Hall (which in itself is a community managed organisation), just to say thank you to all the volunteers who run them and to give them an opportunity to meet together to talk about their aims and any problems.

Of course, the main problem which is common to all community groups is the difficulty in recruiting the volunteer members to run them.   Indeed many members of the management committees of the voluntary groups actually serve on more than one group, mainly because they have more than one interest and because they are willing to do so.

Like every other town and village it might be true that Cottingham does not have one common community interest, nevertheless hundreds, if not thousands, of residents take part in voluntary activities, raising funds to keep going and to serve the community in which they live.

If you still feel that there is nothing of interest for you, take a look at the posters which appear on the notice boards around the village, in the shops and business premises, in the church magazines and in the Cottingham Times.   The next time you hear anyone saying that there is no community spirit in Cottingham, ask they exactly what they mean and what they are prepared to do about it.

So in our Community Groups section our aim is to provide information on the many Community Groups which take place in the village, for the benefit of our residents:

  • Clubs
    • Cottingham Bridge Club
    • Cottingham Cricket Club
    • Cottingham Memorial Club
    • Cottingham Rangers AFC
    • Hull Alpha Probus Club
  • Organisations
    • Cottingham Wild Spaces Group
    • Cottingham Evening Townswomen's Guild
    • Music Time Charity
    •  
  • Societies
    • Cottingham Little Theatre
    • Cottingham Local History Society
    • Cottingham Civic Society
    • Arterian Singers
    • East Yorkshire Embroidery Society
  • Cottingham in Bloom
  • KGV Community Trust

If you would like details of your Group to be included in this Section of our website, please send brief details to the Parish Council Office, either by e-mail, by letter, by telephone or by calling in to the Parish Council Offices.