RESIDENTS could soon be prescribed community socialisation by their GP in one party’s plans to reduce isolation across Cornwall.

Ben Maguire, Liberal Democrat MP for North Cornwall, is calling for more effort to revitalise libraries, community centres and pubs in an effort to tackle the region’s loneliness crisis.

Mr Maguire has appealed for the introduction of what he is calling ‘hobby hubs’, spaces in which residents are able to socialise while enjoying shared hobbies with others. It comes after the closure of a number of public amenities across the county.

The politician says the proposal would breathe new life into local high streets while tackling the growing crisis of loneliness and isolation in his rural Cornish constituency.

Research from the House of Commons library shows that since 2015, 498 libraries and leisure centres have closed across the country. The MP has argued that locally in the Duchy, residents have felt the impact of these closures, leaving many with no choice but to practice their hobbies at home or seek interaction solely online.

Now new data reveals that the average person spends less than half the time on hobbies compared to four years ago, falling from 353 hours per year in 2020 to just 147 hours in 2024. Mr Maguire has warned that a “crisis of connection” is gripping the UK, which is being worsened by the steady loss of local community infrastructure.

The Liberal Democrat has outlined a plans for these ‘hobby hubs’, which would see existing spaces such as libraries, community centres and pubs able to access grant funding to host regular hobby groups. His party say that pots of funding would be made available for shared resources such as sewing machines, cameras, musical instruments and board games, reducing the financial barriers to participation.

The Liberal Democrats have even gone as far as to say that they would allow GPs to ‘prescribe’ participation in Hobby Hubs to patients at risk of isolation, integrating these hubs into local health and community strategies.

"For too long, our communities have been losing their bonds,” said Mr Maguire. “We are facing a silent epidemic of loneliness.

“Places like Bodmin Library, the Lanivet Parish Community Centre, as well as the John Betjeman Centre in Wadebridge are the backbones of our communities. They provide something priceless, a space that isn’t work and isn’t home, but somewhere people can simply come together.”

The MP has described hobbies as ‘a lifeline’ rather than a luxury, and says that places in which people can share their interest with others are key to bringing residents out of isolation and back into the community.

“Hobbies are not a luxury. They are a lifeline. Whether it’s photography, knitting, music or board games, these shared interests bring people out of isolation and back into community life.

“That’s why I’m calling for Hobby Hubs to be set up across North Cornwall as practical, local spaces where people can connect, create and belong once again.”