Crank The (Cornish) Bank

We are The Cornish Bank, and since we opened in 2020 we’ve hosted nearly one thousand events. Music festivals, band residencies, open mic nights, feasts, cèilidhs, queer nights, art exhibitions, folk sessions and lots and lots of gigs!

We’ve been able to achieve all of this, not only because of our incredible local community but because of the team of people who work tirelessly to make all of this happen.

THE PROBLEM
Reduced takings, rising costs and a lack of funding are effecting the whole industry. 125 music venues in the UK closed last year – that's 2 every week! The Cornish Bank are heavily affected by these issues and there are no margins left to cut so we need a supplementary source of income.

With lots of requests from community groups asking to use our space, we currently can't support everyone we want. We want to be more versatile and have more space to house a community fridge, partnering with Falmouth Food Co-op CIC who will provide meals to support with the cost of living crisis. The space will also be used for charities' meetings and events to support our community. 

THE SOLUTION
After consultation with the Music Venues Trust (MVT) we’ve been advised to follow in the footsteps of other music venues around the country and create a secondary space at The Cornish Bank. We are moving the bar downstairs and building The Touc Inn! We'll be knocking out walls and doorways to have a separate entrance, this will create an alternative setting from the event space, to have a drink and socialise in. We will also build a new stage to give a platform to fledgling musicians, supporting them at the start of their career. Upstairs, will be open as a community space during the day. It will have increased capacity so more of you get to join us for our gigs, events and workshops. Don't worry – we will still have a small bar up there for you to quickly grab some drinks.

THE CORNISH BANK COMMUNITY CENTRE
We pledge to keep the upstairs space for community events during the weekdays – workshops, classes, meeting places, launches, clubs, school trips, parties and anything else you can think of! We want to continue to help improve mental health, support vulnerable people, back the creative industry, bolster local businesses and independent's skills, combat loneliness, help charities and other CIC's and improve the well-bring of Falmouth and beyond.

We are working with the likes of Falmouth Food Co-op, Falmouth & Penryn Welcome Refugees, Citizens Advice, Acorn and Shelter to help our community improve their wellbeing. By offering the space for them to provide support and guidance in a range of issues facing people in our county we aim to provide tools to help people be financially independent and physically, mentally and socially more resilient.

As you can imagine it's a pretty big job but, as ever, we're up for the challenge. We've made a good start at getting some initial funds in from some great supporters but we're hoping to get this done soon so need your help for the final push! Being a not for profit organisation, a successful The Cornish Bank means more money invested into the community and the arts and most importantly keeping your local music venue alive!

Any amount you can donate is great. You can also check out our rewards including pre-ordering a pint. Please spread the word!

#crankthebank