Malvern Town FC Community Rooms/Kitchen

The local economy

The investment in Langland Stadium's community rooms, kitchen, entrance and car park has transformed the site from a weekend football ground into a seven day a week community hub. The facilities are now used throughout the week by the Malvern Wellbeing Hub (delivering 43 hours of counselling per month and growing), a weekly Help Centre, the Just for Women group, employment support programmes, seated exercise classes and Mencap training placements. At weekends, the stadium hosts home fixtures attracting growing attendances that peaked at a record 2,100 for the playoff final. These visitors spend in the clubhouse, in local pubs, shops and hospitality businesses, and at Step 3 the club will increasingly attract away supporters from further afield, many of whom will look to make a weekend of it in Malvern. All refurbishment and construction work was carried out by local and regional contractors, and the upgraded commercial grade kitchen, car park resurfacing and ongoing stadium improvements continue to generate trade for Malvern based businesses including builders, signage companies, printers and suppliers. The club employs a full time general manager, hosts an apprentice and Mencap placement workers, and supports a growing network of volunteers who develop skills and confidence that feed back into the local workforce. As Councillor Beverley Nielsen observed following the club's promotion, the rising profile of the football club adds to Malvern's growing reputation as a destination, benefiting independent retailers and hospitality across the town.

Volunteering, jobs & education

The stadium refurbishment directly created the spaces that have enabled a significant increase in volunteering, employment and education at the club. The community rooms now house the Wellbeing Hub, which is supported by a volunteer administrator contributing 10 to 15 hours per week alongside qualified counsellors. The Help Centre is staffed by Citizens Advice volunteers every Thursday, and the Just for Women group is facilitated by Platform Housing's community builder with a qualified counsellor always present. On matchdays, the club relies on a team of volunteer stewards, programme sellers, turnstile operators and tea bar staff, many of whom have been with the club for years and several of whom were involved in physically rebuilding the ground in its early days. The club employs a full time general manager based at the stadium and currently hosts a young apprentice as well as a Mencap training placement worker, providing supported employment experience for people with learning disabilities. We are actively exploring further pathways, including offering Help Centre users the opportunity to volunteer on matchdays as a route back into community participation, and are in discussion with Cube Youth about running sessions for young people at the stadium. The club was also one of the first CIC football clubs in the country, and its governance structure provides practical boardroom experience for volunteer directors. Through employment support partnerships with Building Brighter Futures and Work Well, counselling clients at the hub are being helped to remain in work or return to employment, with early outcomes already showing positive results.

Arts, culture & heritage

The stadium has become a focal point for the cultural and heritage identity of Malvern. We have commissioned a detailed club history project, with a dedicated volunteer historian researching and writing the story of the club from its origins as Barnards Green FC in 1920 through to the present day. This work has already uncovered remarkable stories, including a 1929 match kicked off by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin in front of 3,000 spectators at Victoria Park. The research will be published as a book and is feeding into a heritage montage being installed across the clubhouse walls, giving supporters and community users a visual connection to over a century of local football history. A separate book project is underway charting the club's journey from Step 6 to Step 3, written with a professional author who grew up in the Malvern Hills. The story of how a near-defunct club was rescued from an LPA receiver, sold to the council to clear its debts and then rebuilt entirely by volunteers is one we believe has appeal well beyond Malvern, offering a window into the real workings of non-league football. The club is also represented on the Malvern Hills District Council Town of Culture steering group, contributing to the wider cultural narrative of the town, and has proposed a partnership with Morgan Motor Company that would link two of Malvern's most distinctive heritage brands. The matchday programme features a regular "This Day In History" column and a season by season historical summary, ensuring the club's heritage is shared with supporters at every home game. The refurbished clubhouse itself, with its history panels, community rooms and welcoming bar, has become a gathering place that connects generations of Malvern residents through a shared sense of local pride and belonging.

Activity, health and leisure

The refurbished stadium and its facilities have enabled a significant expansion of activity, health and leisure provision at Langland Stadium. The Wellbeing Hub, which opened in December 2025 in the new community rooms, delivered 89 hours of counselling in its first quarter alone, with demand growing month on month. Referral pathways are now established with Citizens Advice, Social Prescribing teams, NHS Primary Care Networks, local GP practices and the Neighbourhood Mental Health Team, meaning the stadium is now a recognised part of the local health infrastructure. Counselling clients are signposted to physical activity at the club as part of their recovery, with one client reporting they now feel confident enough to bring their children to football activities, reconnecting with the community after a period of isolation. The club has launched a Walking Football programme for the over 50s, combining physical activity with the social side of the clubhouse bar and darts nights, creating a low barrier route into exercise for people who might not otherwise be active. Seated exercise classes run regularly from the community rooms, and the 3G pitch is used throughout the week by junior teams, community groups and hirers of all ages. The Help Centre, running every Thursday, addresses the wider determinants of health by supporting residents with issues that directly impact wellbeing, from financial stress to housing problems. A Bereavement, Grief and Loss Support Group is being established, led by counsellors with hospice experience, and we are in discussion with Cube Youth about running sessions for young people aged 11 to 18 at the stadium. The car park resurfacing has improved safe, accessible access to the site for all users, including those with mobility issues attending the seated exercise classes and counselling sessions.