Tell Co-op what you couldn’t live without in your local community - £300 voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED

[AmeliaMumsnet]

Whether it’s meeting new friends, amenities for the kids, or clubs and charities, it’s so important to make the most of the community you live in. Co-op want to know what you couldn’t live without where you live. Whether it’s where you are now, or the place that really feels like home, which clubs, activities, or services really make a difference to you in your local area?

Here’s what the Co-op have said: ‘Local community values are so important to us - that’s why we give 1% of everything our members spend on selected Co-op branded products and services from Co-op Group businesses, including food stores and funeral homes, to local initiatives in your community. So far, we’ve paid out £9 million to over 4,000 local causes! You can find out more, and sign up to become a member, here.’

You can read the Co-op’s membership T&Cs here.

Whether it’s a local event that brings everyone together, an after school sports club that gets your DC outdoors and active, or even just the beautiful natural scenery, Co-op want to know what really matters to you locally. So tell them about those local services, amenities or events that you just couldn't live without by posting in the thread below.

Every MNer who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

the local park, lots of green space and room for adventures.

A local park with a park keeper is massively important to us - makes us feel safe that she is there and I love being able to say hi on the way to school and chat after school when we play in the playground. She knows all the gossip and knows the parents of all the local teenagers so they are too scared to cause trouble.

Local child-friendly restaurants are important to us. We live in a small, friendly town and can walk down, meet friends and enjoy meals together in places that aren't just the usual chains. Since DC were small we've always taken them out and at weekends it's a nice way to catch up with neighbours for an 'early dinner' and a glass of wine.

We live in a village where there are so many wonderful places to go for walks with our children and dogs - from apple orchards and fields, to woodland and reservoirs - so many beautiful places that all change with the different seasons.

I love my DS school events, it has such a lovely community feel to it. We went to the fireworks last year which was amazing. So nice for parents and children to all get together! I have recently discovered a bulletin board by my local train station, which has alsorts of community based events! I will definitely be checking it out.

We couldn't live without our local library.

I can not praise our libraries in and around the city or their staff members enough. Every library we attend, especially our local one is always really supportive and invested in our daughters reading journey. I really don't feel like we could ever be without them.

My daughter was an early reader, an eager reader, a hungry reader! We signed up to our local library when she was very young and she bonded with the librarians there quickly. When she set her reading challenge (to read 365 books in a year- she finished in 10 months) at five years old they were so enthusiastic and supportive. They recommended new books, sequels and similar authors for her every step of the way. They continued to ask her how she was getting on, what she was reading, how she was engaging with the test. Some would even set aside books for her to share upon her arrival. They provided a real back bone to her reading challenge and her love of books in general, which was wonderful as she had outside support (ie not within the household) and encouragement.

Even now, she's nearly ten years old and their investment in her passion of reading has remained unchanged! Our local library and it's wonderful librarians are just something part of our community i could never picture being without, they are an integral part of our daily life.

Coop is the best supermarket out there for top quality products and 100% fresh food I love to shop there

local shops

We couldn't live without our village hall, it's a nursery, after school and holiday club, lots of classes and clubs for adults and has its own little park.

The local community centre with lots of events for young and old

We have two great parks on our doorstep and use these loads with two young children. Really appreciate the green space above everything else.
We're also lucky to be close to lots of community facilities, the local hospital, shops and leisure outlets as we're fairly central in the city that we live. Being able to walk to lots of these is also a great benefit -for our purses, the environment and our health.

A community church, a living, active community presence, not just somewhere to turn up to on a Sunday, but a 24/7 community service, with foodbank, debt counselling, befriending, prayer ministry, children's activities, activities for the elderly, marriage guidance, and rooms available for others to use.

Our local Scout Group. The children love going to Beavers, Cubsand Scouts, the activities that are offered are amazing. They get to meet and socialise with children from different schools and experience new things together. Camping weekends, hikes around the local area, and practical skills such as firelighting. It's amazing! The volunteers are incredible too!

We are very lucky to have an annual festival in our village. It is a fantastic event that really brings together our local community. We also have a great library and park.

The two libraries in ours and the neighbouring district. We decide which one to visit depending on other destinations that day. They are both new buildings which are very plush and have dedicated child loving staff. One has a flash independent cafe so always smells like fresh coffee it's fabulous. My city plans to close 8 libraries in other areas I feel very lucky they arnt under threat. My dds are library addicts and think the concept is wonderous!

I also rate the national trust property a mile away my kids have grown up climbing trees and getting very muddy there. So has the dog.

The c of e church across the road - I'm not religious but it hosts brownies etc and the facilities are high spec. I feel lucky the dds can access so much yards away.

The library. Education, inspiration, connection. Lego clubs, code clubs, job clubs. A hub for info, a meeting place, a friendly place. Love my library.

Couldn't live without the amazing park we have opposite our house and the vast amount of walking fields that we walk our dog in.

Green space for all the kids in the neighbourhood to roam around. None on the housing here has gardens, so it's brilliant that these is a good variety of space for them toplay in.
Also the library... A meeting place as well as providing a variety of valuable services.

We are so lucky.

We have formed a small residents group in our area. It's been fantastic to arrange events that have brought our community together, we have lunches picnics and even a small art group for the local children. We have formed friendships and alliances and even managed to set up a neighbourhood watch which is working well!

Bus stops are so important to me!

I don't drive due to disability so I am very lucky that there are bus stops within very close proximity of the places I need to go.
For eg, shopping, taking children to the park , library etc , bank.

Also love my post office at the end of the road ... I can bank my cheques in there to go into my co-op account !

I cant live without my local Co-op but you closed it downin January this year !
It was in Rose Hill in Surrey and had been for years. It was so handy, its such a loss to the community it really is.

The library and our local park. We do not have much, but these places simultaneously allow for both quiet solace and places to take the children to learn and have fun (at different points in time, of course)

The pond and swamp area where we live to feed the ducks and look at the wildlife.

The park. Great for scooters, bikes, play area, seeing the ducks (currently very cute baby Moorhens), lying in the sun.