Skip to main content
Case Study:

“A Charles Burrell ideal is the future”

Saving their school and serving their community

Published: 29 June 2022
5 minute read

This month we’re shining our spotlight to the East - join us for a virtual trip around Charles Burrell Centre (CBC).

In our short film, below, we look at the incredible work CBC do with and for their community in Thetford, Norfolk.

CBC was originally formed after the community came together to save their local secondary school building from demolition. It has since become a thriving community centre and hub for budding entrepreneurs.


It’s not a bolt-on extra, it's not something that's here just for Covid, it’s something that is part of the future strategy of how we live our lives. A Charles Burrell ideal is the future.”

Nik Chapman, Chief Executive of CBC

CBC is home to a huge range of businesses, charities and educational institutions – from West Suffolk College to Grow Kids; tattoo artists to a Polish school. They also run East Anglia’s first Citizens’ Supermarket. As Billie Lawler, who runs The Burrell Shop, told us:

“It’s a corner shop that just happens to have really, really great prices so we can make it as approachable as we possibly can to any member of our local community here in Thetford. For us it doesn’t matter whether you’re working, whether you’re on benefits, what those benefits are, if you are in need of cheaper shopping then it’s our pleasure to be able to welcome you.”

The success of the CBC has meant that they’re now looking at ways to grow and provide even more opportunities to the local community. However, the key is doing this in a way that maintains the spirit of the centre. As Nik Chapman, chief executive of CBC, explained:

“It has become so successful and so important to so many people – it’s in the DNA of the local community. If we didn’t have it we would have to have it in some other form…it’s not a bolt-on extra, its not something that here just for Covid, it’s something that is part of the future strategy of how we live our lives. A Charles Burrell ideal is the future.”

To find out more about Charles Burrell Centre, visit: https://www.charlesburrellcentre.org.uk/

To find out more about Locality membership, visit: https://locality.org.uk/membership/