HI HUB is at the heart of communications serving the community of Histon & Impington. Comprising an extensive website, and weekly ‘What’s On’ and ‘News’ emails, it provides a central reference point for the whole village.
The aim is to bridge communication gaps, better connecting residents, businesses and community groups with the services, facilities and social opportunities that support our growing and vibrant village. As well as news coverage and features about village life, it enables local people to find out about forthcoming events; clubs, groups and activities; shops and businesses trading in the village; property and accommodation; planning applications; and local job vacancies.
Mission
The idea of a digital news and information service for the village was dreamed up in 2018 out of a desire to help residents minimise their carbon footprint by buying and working locally, and to help businesses trade with local people and employ staff from the village. A group of enthusiastic members of the community got together to try to make the dream a reality, and the remit soon became clear:
- To connect the less-connected (e.g. workers who spend little time in the village; people new to the village; non-users of social media, especially older people);
- To encourage greater involvement in village activities and initiatives;
- To provide more timely information to more people about opportunities in their own community (e.g. events; job opportunities; consultation responses);
- To provide deeper information and reliable news about key issues that affect local residents and businesses;
- To enable local employers to attract local labour;
- To encourage residents to make more use of local traders and services.
HI HUB was launched in February 2020 and surveys have consistently endorsed its value to the community. Two years later, we installed a screen in the library so that those without access to the internet themselves could see the lead stories and local events there.
Volunteers
As well as the volunteer founders, who are the directors of the Community Interest Company, a team of volunteers is at the heart of HI HUB, providing content for the website and support services to keep it up to date and functioning effectively. HI HUB is a resource for the community, by the community, and the doors are permanently open to local people who would like to join in. Read more about volunteering here.
Memberships
As an independent news provider, HI HUB is involved with the Public Interest News Foundation which is working around the UK and beyond to understand the unique contribution that independent news providers make to society. Their research and support is helping to build the capacity of independent news providers, including HI HUB, and improve public understanding of their work.
HI HUB is also a member of the Independent Community News Network (ICNN), which is the voice of over 100 hyperlocal community news publications across the length and breadth of the UK. All organisations admitted to the ICNN are independent of commercial, political and religious interests. We are community focused and produce contemporaneous news content, committed to upholding high professional and ethical standards, including accuracy, transparency, integrity, accountability and fairness.
HI HUB is regulated by Impress and abides by the Impress Standards Code, which provides a framework that enables journalists to create high-quality work in the public interest, and to protect freedom of expression, balanced with respect for the rights and interests of everyone involved.
Policies
We have a number of policies to guide our operations which are available on the Policies page