Village Hall Improvement Project update

Phase 1 – Complete

It was November 2022 that the Village Hall Committee held 2 public consultations at the Hall to present some draft plans for a proposed improvement project for the Hall. Following some changes that were made as a result of feedback Full Planning Permission was granted in February 2023. Phase 1 was completed in February of this year with the fitting of acoustic panels in the main hall. This was as a result of feedback from our public meetings which changed the low priority to the highest and anyone visiting the Hall will certainly have noticed the benefit.

Phase 2 – Fundraising

Since then very little has been said about it. The Committee and a few volunteers have been busy with fundraising projects and we have applied for a large number of Grants, of which many have been turned down. However we have had some success and we have also been keeping our spend to a minimum to build up funds towards this ambitious project. We now have around 50% of the funds needed with 2 grants pledged on the condition that we raise the balance. This will take us to around 75% of our target but only if we can raise the remaining 25%.

A Recap

As a reminder, briefly, we are planning on doubling the size of the kitchen and altering the current serving hatch to allow for more people in the Kitchen and much faster serving of large parties. The hallway next to the Kitchen will be much larger and will become a new reception area making the front entrance the main entrance. Stairs will lead off from Hall/reception to a new 1st floor room which will be smaller than the main hall but larger than the Committee room. This should be a cosier room and attractive to small groups, suitable for family parties and some of the existing Dance groups and exercise classes.  The current store room will be about 40% larger allowing for more tables to be stored on the ground floor rather than having to constantly lift them up and down from the side of the Stage.

The Hall was built 70 years ago in June and has had no major upgrades in that time. The Trustees believe this project will enhance the hall and allow it to cater for our current needs and well into the future as it is one of the busiest Halls in the area. Proposed elevations are shown below. (CLICK on the image to see the larger picture!)