Coalville CAN has confirmed that it has been able to complete the purchase of its building in the town.

The community group has been based in Memorial Square, but the offices were owned by World Habitat - a global housing charity.

CAN - Community and Neighbours - held a share offer and recently took out a loan to make sure the deal went through.

A statement was released by Coalville CAN this morning (Thursday), which said: "We are thrilled to share an important milestone on our journey!

"After years of hard work, setbacks, a successful community share offer and even taking out loans, we have managed to pull together the funds to purchase our building from World Habitat.

"We are incredibly grateful to them for being such a patient and supportive landlord throughout this process.

"This is about so much more than a building—it's about the transformative power of community.

"Spaces like CAN HQ have an immeasurable impact on people's lives.

"In addition to welcoming senior staff from World Habitat and their Chair, we were also honoured to host the Association of Camerados and their Ripple Effect Impact Mapper Sam Moon, who shared how deeply inspired they were by the stories they heard.

"But it shouldn't be this hard for communities to take ownership of the places that matter to them.

"That's why we're campaigning for community ownership through We're Right Here. It's great to see the community right-to-buy agenda gaining traction, and we're proud to be part of this movement for change.

"Here's to a future where communities have the power to shape their own spaces!"

Coalville CAN's Deana Bamford added on social media: "Getting buildings into the hands of local people, so they can pursue their passions and make a difference, is absolutely essential for our collective, creative future and community wellbeing.

"Absent and greedy landlords continue to extract wealth from our communities, councils are selling off community assets and rents are going up and up.

"It's crystal clear that things have to change and we are trying to do that, inspired by so many others leading the way!

"But it's a bit like David and Goliath! We need more local ownership and community cooperatives to create a brighter future for the next generation.

"We are pleased the Government are backing the community right to buy! We need the access to finance and resource to go with it and we need it yesterday.

"Hearing the voices of young people from Coalville at our celebration event and the stories of those who've benefited from spaces like CAN HQ makes it all worthwhile. These moments remind us why we do what we do and why we don't sleep much!

"A huge thank you to World Habitat for being an ethical landlord and giving us the time to develop our plans and raise funds. But let's be honest—it really shouldn't be this hard for communities to take ownership of the places that matter to them."