New Hall – Really Big News.

At long last, building of the new hall is underway. After, what seems, years of discussion, planning and fundraising the builders have finally started on the new hall. As I sit here writing, they are already up to the windows and may well be even higher by the time you read this.

Despite a last minute hiccup late last year, we have now completed all of the planning approvals required although the extra costs and time delays have had an impact on the project. We had hoped to be open for this summer but it seems likely to be early next year now. Very big thanks must go to the significant donors who are mentioned below for being so generous and also patient when the delay occurred.

We now have sufficient funding to build the hall but still need more funds to add extra facilities such as green energy, new tables and chairs as well as equipment to support new activities that we can now host in our new hall.

As part of the fundraising we wrote to every household in the village and asked if they would be prepared to donate money for the hall. Several households did and several others indicated that they would consider donating when the project was viable.

If you are in a position to donate any amount to the new hall, please let Johnny Jupp, 4 Meeting House Lane – 01400 273121, know. Your donation will make a real difference to the quality of hall we end up with. If you wish to sponsor or donate to a specific item, we can also accept that.

We are building the hall in line with the plans we discussed at the last village meeting with one exception. We had wanted to clad the hall in timber to reflect the style of the old hall but this was rejected by the planner who insisted on brick with a pantile roof to reflect the predominant style of the area.

We have also ruled out the option of rainwater harvesting as it is not a cost effective option for us and our funds will be better spent on other things.

We look forward to seeing you all at the launch event for the new hall.

Thanks,

Brant Broughton Village Hall Rebuild Committee.

 

                                         

 

        

 

 

 

UPDATE ON THE REPLACEMENT OF THE VILLAGE HALL

 

It has sadly taken us a lot longer to get to the actual building stage of the new Village Hall than we had hoped.  In my last article for the Sandbeck I let you all know that we had now to apply for further planning permission than we had thought originally.  This is because the land around the Village Hall is registered as a village green.  Not only do we need planning permission from Lincolnshire Council, which we have, we also need permission from the Planning Inspectorate, a national body that deals with common land and village greens.  It has taken us a while to get through all the regulations and understand the forms we had to submit to the Planning Inspectorate and then fill them in.  The result of this is that you should now be able to see notices at the Village Green and the Rectory Field notifying any interested parties that we plan to build a new Village Hall.  The reason is this.  

To use extra land on the Village Green, we have to offer ‘replacement land’.  That replacement land is the Rectory Field which is also ‘owned’ by the Parish Council.  The Parish Council are happy that the Rectory Field be offered as replacement land as they acquired it to ensure that no further building was done on it – something registering it as a Green will assist.  It is, of course, much bigger than the land we will be using on the existing Green.  However we configured the design of the new Hall, we were going to have to use up more land than the current Hall does as we have to provide a car park and disabled access.  Even the part of the car park that will be matting with grass growing through it is considered as having been built upon and other land offered in its stead.  Also we have to provide a new vehicle access to the car park as the current one does not meet current regulations: more land to be used up whatever design or placement of the new Hall we choose.  We believe that the plans now on show are the best compromise to meet all the requirements.  A Hall that is big enough to cater for all the uses that villagers wish to put it to.  Continuous use of the Hall even while the new one is being built.  The least amount of land used on the Green that we can manage.  It is worth noting that there is nowhere else within the curtilage of the village that we could build a new Hall (the Playing Fields are not within the curtilage).

The plans for the Hall can still be seen in the Hall and the full application to the Planning Inspectorate is also available to view there and on the Brant Broughton Web Site http://www.brantbroughtonlocal.co.uk/.  So what happens next?  We have to go through a process with the Planning Inspectorate which involves a consultation period with various bodies (including the Open Spaces Society) and a site visit by the Planning Inspectorate and maybe some other events.  After that, if we are successful we can start to build.  If all goes as we plan, we expect to be building in the summer as the Planning Inspectorate process should not take much more than about 6 months.  Hopefully I will be writing in one of the summer editions about when the building will start!

John Jupp

Chairman of the village Hall Replacement Committee

 

 

VILLAGE HALL NEW BUILD UPDATE

 

Further to my last update on the progress we have made towards our new Village Hall, you may have noticed that there is no work going on, on the Green as I had said there would be.  I and the Village Hall Replacement Committee are very disappointed that this is so.  However, we discovered at the last minute that we have to go through a further planning permission stage with a national body, the Planning Inspectorate, which has delayed our start of work.  Because the Planning Inspectorate have a large backlog of work they cannot come and see our plans and so forth for six months which has set us back a long way.  In essence we now believe that it will not be until about April/May next year that we start work.  The Replacement Committee and the builders who won the bidding process for the work, T Balfe whom many of you will know, are champing at the bit to be able to get on with the work but we have to jump through the hoops of the bureaucracy.

In short, thank you all for your generous contributions to the building of a new Hall and I ask for your patience for a little longer as we ensure that we get this right.  

 

The New Village Hall

The summer is now over (yes we did have a summer) and autumn is upon us but the Village Hall Replacement Committee have continued to work hard at the funding for and preparation to build the new Hall.  The final design for the Hall was shown to an open meeting for all to see in July and is still available for those who wish to see it in the old Hall.  We have had considerable funding offered to us from the Lottery (£50,000), WREN (£50,000), Lincolnshire County Council and North Kesteven District  Council (£33,000), the Parish Council (£15,000).  The Village Hall  Committee has raised a further £10,000 towards building the new Hall and several villagers have pledged a further £5000.  We have several other bids in to other organisations that fund village halls and anticipate that we will have all the money needed to build the new Hall, demolish the old, build the requisite car park and restore the Green shortly.

Meanwhile, we have been asking for final quotes from builders so we can select the preferred bidder.  We are using a project management company to help us manage the contract and ensure that the build programme runs smoothly.  With our project managers, Watts, we will be letting the contract to our preferred bidder by the end of September and the building will start in October or November.  As I write, we still anticipate that the new Hall will be up by the New Year and ready for a New Year party.  However, the project manager that was handling our new Hall has had a heart attack and all the Replacement Committee members wish him a speedy recovery with his family.  Watts have put another of their managers on our case so that not too much time has been lost.

In short, the Village Green will soon be host to our builders and there will be lots of fencing round the site to keep it safe for all.  Posters will appear to celebrate those organisations who have given generously to building the new Hall.  Contractors’ traffic has been allocated a car park and will disrupt the Village as little as they can.  The old Hall will remain in service for all who wish to use it during the building of the new Hall so there should be as little disruption to our activities as is possible.

The Replacement Committee have been working on the project to replace the Village Hall for nearly four years and this is an exiting time to think that all that hard work is about to pay off.  We are well aware that there is still a long way to go and that many a slip may yet occur, but this is quite an important time for us all as this major project gets into its building stage and the culmination of a huge amount of work is nearly in sight.  I would like to thank all the Committee members for all their hard work so far and all those others in the Village that have freely given their time money and expertise to get us this far.

Although we are nearly there, we still need to continue to raise finds in order to equip the hall with the best that we can in order for you all to enjoy all the facilities and activities that you indicated you would like in the survey. If anyone would like to pledge a donation, please contact   Johnny Jupp.

 

 

New Hall News – Big News

It is finally starting to happen, after months of planning, surveying the village to obtain your views, drafting plans for the new building and getting quotes from builders, we are almost ready to start building the new hall the village so richly deserves.

We have just heard from the Big Lottery Fund that our grant application for £50,000 towards the new hall has been approved. (See the Logo at the bottom of the article). We have also heard from Lincolnshire County Council and North Kesteven District Council that our application for a grant of £33,000 between them has also been approved. This coupled with the money the Village Hall Committee has raised through events like the Fun Day, means that we have sufficient funding to start building the new hall.

We still need to obtain more money to fit out the hall and build the car park as well as remove the old hall but we have applications in to a number of other organisations to cover this work. We know that several of them were waiting on the outcome of the Big Lottery application before looking at our application. We have told them of the news and hope to have more good news to share with you shortly.

We now have to move pretty rapidly to complete all the approval steps before we can start to build the hall. We need to finalise the design and we are looking at the internal layout, external finish, heating, water recycling and other options at the moment. We will then go out to builders for final quotes and complete the planning approval process.

We will hold a public meeting in the hall shortly where the entire village can look at the final design and we can show you exactly what we are going to build. The date has not yet been confirmed so look out for notices around the village announcing the date.

After such a long time, it is now moving at a pace and we are hoping to cut turf in the summer. Thank you to everyone who has helped us get this far and keep fund raising because the more money we can raise the better the hall we can build.

Thanks,

Brant Broughton Village Hall Rebuild Committee.

 

 

NEW VILLAGE HALL UPDATE

 

Our New Village Hall is beginning to feel really attainable as our second application has now been presented to The Lottery and if this is successful the other funding bodies should slot nicely into place.  Many individual villagers as well as the committee are constantly working on fund-raising ideas and after a most successful Fun Day (ably headed by Howard Lyon), an Ann et Vin Wine Tasting (Tony Noble), a Village Treasure Hunt (by Pete Sharman) & yet another donation by the Pop-In-Coffee Morning (Ann Keighery) we have now accumulated over £28,000 towards our new building.

 

This year’s Fun Day produced the largest income ever – over £4,500 was taken on the day & after expenses just under £2,500 was profit.  This was due to a combination of the enthusiasm of our Villagers & their guests (including some Dutch) & to the stalwart work of the committee & many others who were still clearing up at 10pm the following day!  Our thanks go to all those who gave so much time & energy so freely, (during this

exercise on the Sunday morning we were privileged to an interesting demonstration of a Vintage Baler!).  Unfortunately the owner of the Tallest Sunflower was not awarded their trophy as they remained

anonymous; if they would like to make themselves known to the Committee we will rectify this.  As for the result of the Heaviest Marrow, the Committee are still awaiting the result of the steroid & gender test done on Mr W. Booth’s entry!  

 

As advertised, we have another exciting ‘Auction of Promises’ (Dennis & Ro Major) coming up on Saturday, 21st November & a ‘Bring your Party to a Party’ (Dan & Gemma Shaw) on New Year’s Eve – all funds towards our New Village Hall.

 

Whilst Bill Potts still remains Treasurer for both the Village Hall & the New Hall Fund accounts, in order to help with the ease of paying-in, Rowan Booth will be doing this from now on, so please could you give all monies, fund-raising or otherwise, to her.   

 

Our Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday, 12th November at 7.30 in the Village Hall, followed by a normal committee meeting.  We would very much welcome some new blood to our committee to help with the last push towards completing our New Hall Project, so please come along if you feel inclined.  

 

Thank you to everyone for your on-going help & support.  Secretary to the Brant Broughton & Stragglethorpe Village Hall Committee.  

 

 

Auction of Promises
Saturday 21st November 2009

 

This year we are planning to hold another Auction of Promises and hope to repeat the success of the last one, in 2005, where we raised over £2,400. We will be holding the event in the Village Hall on Saturday 21st November and it will follow the same format, drinks, supper and then the auction.

Colin Young of Golding Young of Grantham has agreed to act as auctioneer again. Colin can be seen regularly on TV on shows such as “Bargain Hunt” and “Flog It”. He has a unique and very funny style and manages the auction with good humour whilst obtaining very good prices for the lots. He is worth the entrance fee on his own.

The auction is just like a normal auction, only the lots are different and this is where we need your help. Some of the lots are generous donations from local businesses and we will be asking for them again although we are expecting a harder time due to the current business climate. The rest of the lots, and what makes it different to many other auctions, are from people within the village donating their time or skills for the event. Lat time we had a wide variety of lots such as Wrapping Christmas decorations, a basket of ironing, 3 hours gardening and a ride on a vintage motorcycle. These truly unique lots were very well received and appreciated by all concerned, as well as raising a considerable sum of money.

We have now started planning for the event and need people to volunteer their lots. You can offer anything you like or club together with others to make a suitable lot.

If you think that you may be able to offer something suitable, please contact Charlie Thornton, Dennis or Ro Major and we will help you refine the offering.

We will provide more details of the event, timings, costs etc in the next Sandbeck.

Thank you.

 

 

FUNDRAISING FOR NEW VILLAGE HALL

Just a little article to update you on the fundraising efforts so far this year.

First of all, a BIG thank you to those kind people who have already responded with donations in response to the letter we sent out in July. Just to clarify further, we do not actually need the money now; we need your pledges of support for when we do succeed in achieving sufficient grant funding to start the project. Once we have this in place we will then ask for the pledges to be honoured. Of course, if you want to donate money now, we will be very pleased to receive it. If you do wish to pledge a sum for the hall, please tell Johnny Jupp as indicated in the letter.

As far as the grant funding is concerned, we have successfully completed phase 1 of our big lottery application. This means that we are now hard at work submitting the second, more detailed application which is when we will know we have the money. The other good point about achieving this is that we can now apply to other bodies such as WREN, BIFFA and EON for funding in order to continue raising money towards the build.

We are continuing to raise money in other ways and I see that we have earned over £32 by using www.easysearch.org.uk and www.easyfundraising.org.uk which all helps.

We have received a large number of ink cartridges and a mobile phone for recycling, thank you for doing that. We have sent them off and are awaiting the details of how much we have earned. We are still collecting cartridges and you can now deposit them behind the bar at the Generous Briton. Thanks to Jayne and John for stepping in when the Flowers at the Forge closed and thanks to Sonia and Pam for helping when they could.

So you can see, lots going on and funds slowly rising towards the critical amount where we feel confident that we can go ahead so please keep helping us as you have already.

If you have any questions about the project please feel free to ask any of the new build committee and we will do all we can to answer them. After all, we are doing it for you and need your continued support.

 

Thank You,

Brant Broughton Village Hall Rebuild Committee.

 

 

New Hall Update.

There have been a number of things happening on the New Hall project and we would like to update you on progress as well as let you know some of the things we are working on and need your help for.

Design.

We have been granted Building Regulations approval for the new design. We still have to submit the final materials for approval once they have been chosen and will have to resubmit if we make any significant changes. We are now looking at refining the design to add the options that we would like such as extra green parking, a wooden dance floor and alternative energy and water capture. We will then decide which options are to be included in the final build for the hall. The aim is to provide an attractive and functional village hall which retains the best of the village green location.

Funding.

We have received initial quotes from three firms to give an indicative price for the build. These are lower then originally thought and allow us to move forward with funding applications. We have been given positive feedback for our application from the district and county councils and are working through the application process for the other large funders.

In order to make the project more attractive to a range of funders we are splitting the project into 4 parts:-

· A new hall structure

· Fit out of the new hall

· Removal of the old hall

· Landscaping of the green

This makes each project smaller and we can then move ahead as we raise sufficient money without waiting to receive all of it although we have to complete all 4 projects eventually.

As we have said many times, we cannot rely on these funders for the entire amount and will have to raise money locally as well. This is why the work carried out by the Village Hall Committee to run fund raising events is crucial to the projects and we hope that you can support as many as possible.

Last week I attended a play held in the hall by a travelling theatre group and it was an excellent evening and totally different to the usual events. Well done Rowan for working so hard to put the show on.

We have written to several local businesses asking if they can make a donation to the hall and are starting to receive some donations even in these challenging times.

We will be writing to every home in the parish to ask each of you individually if you would be prepared to pledge an amount towards the new hall. We are hoping to be able to address each letter personally to the home owner but are unable to access the full electoral role so some may just say “To the occupier”. Please do not treat the letter as junk mail and take the time to read it and respond if you can.

We will also be selling “bricks” for the new hall at different events during the year, please buy one when you can. Every donation moves us closed to our goal.

The other ways that you can help are by using the internet and searching and shopping using the websites set up for the purpose by Claire Tasker. I use the search page for all searches even if I know the site I really need. I have so far raised £4.24 without working any harder. Thank you for setting these sites up for us Claire.

Another way to raise money is by recycling your old printer cartridges and phones and we have collection boxes in the hall and at the Forge. Please support these facilities if you can. A big thank you to everyone who has already recycled your cartridges. At the moment we cannot recycle EPSON cartridges for money and I am trying to find an alternative recycler for the ones we already have.

If you have an Epson printer and it is getting on a bit have a look on http://bbvh.easysearch.org.uk/ for alternatives and then buy a non Epson machine, ideally through http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/ and we are all winners!!!

Thanks again.  The New Hall Committee.

 

 

New Hall News.

 

Here is the link mentioned in the last Sandbeck on how we can raise money for the new hall just by searching.  http://bbvh.easysearch.org.uk/

Just click on that link instead of Google or Yahoo or whichever you normally use.  If you set it as your home page or add it to favourites, it is even easier.

 

Here is the link to the shopping site as well. Just look here first and help us raise the money.  http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/

 

At the time of writing we have 11 registered members and £15.93 of funds raised just by using the easysearch engine and easyfundraising for shopping on-line.

 

We will keep you updated on www.brantbroughtonlocal.co.uk and in each edition of the Sandbeck Magazine.

 

Help to build a New Village Hall and go green at the same time.

 

Of some 60 million inkjet cartridges used each year in the UK, only about 10% are recycled. This means that 54 million cartridges get thrown away each year and end up in landfill sites or are incinerated. Inkjet cartridges will take about 1,000 years to decompose in landfill sites. Sending cartridges to landfill also costs money because of the landfill tax passed on to consumers through council tax or companies' waste collection costs.  

 

There is now an easy way to raise funds for the new hall and do your bit for the environment. We can recycle your old inkjet cartridges and mobile phones and the money we receive goes to the new hall rebuild fund. All you have to do is place your empty cartridges and phones in the collection boxes which are situated at the Village Hall and Flowers at the Forge on the High Street.

We do all the rest, it really is that simple.    

You can then relax knowing that you are helping improve the village and saving the planet at the same time.

We can accept all types of phone and inkjet cartridges. If we cannot sell them we will dispose of them in a suitable manner.

Please help us to raise these funds we so desperately need.

 

FUND-RAISING FOR THE NEW VILLAGE HALL

 

There’s now two easy ways for you to help raise funds for the new Village Hall!

Shop Online and Raise Funds

easyfundraising is a shopping directory listing some of your favourite online stores including Argos, Next, Debenhams, John Lewis, Toys R Us, HMV and over 600 others. Just use the links on the easyfundraising site whenever you shop online and, at no extra cost to you, we'll receive a free donation of up to 15% from every purchase you make. It really is that simple!

It’s completely FREE to register and you won’t pay a penny more for your shopping when you use the easyfundraising site. In fact you can even SAVE MONEY as many retailers offer discounts, special offers and even 'e-vouchers' exclusive to easyfundraising.

If you shop online anyway then why not raise valuable extra funds for us by using this fantastic scheme. All you need to do is visit http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/bbvh and when you register, select Brant Broughton Village Hall - Lincoln as the organisation you wish to support.

Search the Web and Raise Funds

You can also raise funds when you search the Web - with easysearch, a search engine with a difference!

When you search the Web with easysearch instead of Google or any other search engine, you’ll raise funds for us with every search you make! Just like easyfundraising it’s completely free to use and if you make just 10 searches a day, you could raise £20 a year - or more - for us, just by switching to easysearch.

What’s more, easysearch is a 'super' search engine that combines the strengths of several search providers together - Yahoo!, MSN Windows Live Search, Ask.com and many more. easysearch tracks down the most relevant and accurate results from across the Web, which means you’ll find what you’re looking for quickly and easily every time - all in one ‘easy’ search.

Check out our unique easysearch page at http://bbvh.easysearch.org.uk and use it every time you search the Web.

 

 

NEWSFLASH - PLANNING PERMISSION HAS BEEN GRANTED

 

We have now completed the planning application and await the decision of NKDC shortly. In developing the design we have come up with one which, we believe, will meet the vast majority of needs of the villagers and our hirers as well as substantially reduce our running costs.

By building the hall alongside the existing one we should not lose any of our existing hirers. If we could not provide a venue for them during building, they may find alternative accommodation and not return when we complete the build and this would severely impact the financial viability of the new hall.

By building the hall in this manner should mean that we do not have to increase hire charges and may even be able to reduce them for local events and groups. This will be a decision taken by the Village Hall Management Committee when the new hall is built.  

Once we have obtained planning permission we can start the detailed design work into the internal fit and specification for the hall as well as investigate additional options for the design. We will also be able to obtain very detailed quotes for building the hall so can then start to apply for the grants we will need to build it.

We are looking to apply for as many grants as we can to secure a significant part of the funding but we will still need to raise money locally as well. This demonstrates that the village supports the hall and helps to convince granting bodies that we are worth supporting as well as providing us with the ability to fund items which we may not be able to fund through grants. We have designed a range of options to allow everyone to contribute according to their means.

Option 1: Founders Board.

We will create a “Founders Board” to be displayed in the hall to recognise all significant sponsors. The minimum donation for this board will be £1,000 and will entitle the donor to have their name, or company name on the board as well as allow them to rent the hall, free of charge, one night per year for the first 5 years of the new hall being open. If you are interested in supporting this option, please contact the Chairman of the New Hall Replacement Committee, John Jupp. Tel: 01400 273121.

Option 2: Buy a Brick.

At every event we will sell virtual bricks for use in the hall. Each person who purchases a brick will be given a certificate with the name of the donor on it. We will set a minimum price for the bricks of £5, but will accept any amount over that for a brick. A register of donors, but not the amount donated, will be kept in a book of donors to be held in the new hall. If you wish to buy a brick, please do so at any of the events held in the hall or speak to a committee member.

Option 3: Fundraising Events.

We will continue to hold a wide variety of events in the hall over the course of the year to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. This means that you can come to an event and have a really good time as well as knowing that you are helping the existing hall survive and the new hall start.

I will keep everyone informed of progress through articles in the Sandbeck but please ask any of the New Building Committee if you have any questions. We are working on this project on your behalf and for your benefit. We want to do everything we can to ensure that the village has a hall which we can all be proud of.

The members of The New Build Committee are as follows:

Johhny Jupp, Charlie Thornton, Bill Potts, Keith Salmon, Dennis Major, Louise Harding, Tony Noble.

If you want to help the committee and support the new hall, please contact any of the above. You will be welcome.

Thanks,

Brant Broughton Village Hall Rebuild Committee.

 

 

 

Notes of the meeting held to present the new hall design to the village.  Tuesday 25th March.

These are not detailed minutes of the public meeting but notes intended to communicate the outcome of the meeting to those who could not attend in person.

The meeting was held to present the design for the hall to the villagers. It was an opportunity for the new hall committee to explain the project and for the people to have their questions answered. The meeting was part of the ongoing project communication which aims to ensure that everyone has the chance to understand what the project team are doing on their behalf. The meeting started at 7:30 and two sets of plans were displayed on the walls to allow people to look at them. Drinks were provided and it was a very informal start to the meeting. 19 people from the village attended and 4 people from the new build committee hosted the event. It was chaired by Dennis Major with Johnny Jupp and Charlie Thornton presenting and answering questions.

Charlie explained some of the background to the project which was first raised at the AGM in 2006 where the attendees supported a project to look at replacing the hall and people volunteered to be part of that committee. The committee did some initial investigations and conducted a survey of the village which showed strong support for a new hall and also for it to remain on the village green. As a result of that survey, an initial design was produced and several builders were asked to provide initial quotes for the work.

The design was launched at the 2007 Fun Day and has been displayed in the village hall since then. People provided feedback on the design and this feedback, as well as informal discussions with the NKDC planners, has led to this new design.  The design provides for significantly more storage whilst keeping a main hall with a similar area but a better shape for our needs. The storeroom has become narrower but longer which allows the hall to be located nearer the boundary fence and thus preserving a similar amount of green to that we currently have, once the old hall has been removed. We also plan to include the minimum tarmac on site and use blocks which support the weight of vehicles but allow grass to grow through to improve the appearance of the green.

Charlie also informed the meeting that the committee are working with a number of professional organisations under the “Pro Help” banner who do work for charitable causes such as us for little or no cost. We would be using as much reduced cost professional advice as we could but would use other people if need be and we have commissioned a survey of the existing hall to see what state it is in and how long it can remain viable and a soil survey of the proposed site of the new hall to ensure it was suitable and safe to build upon.

He then reported that the Parish Council would be applying for planning permission on behalf of the hall as soon as the detailed plans and supporting information were available.

Johnny talked about our approach to funding the project and that we were unlikely to find a singe source which would meet our needs as the Big Lottery Fund has changed its funding priorities for this year and no longer provide as many capital grants. Johnny explained that the amount we need is approximately £300,000 based upon previous estimates and adding a reasonable contingency fund. He also explained that we would be producing a detailed cost plan now that we have a final design to work on.  

The plan now is for us to approach as many organisations as possible to build up sufficient grants and donations for the hall. We will be approaching people such as WREN and The Aggregates levy as well as the district council who manage funds for capital projects in our area. We would also be writing to firms and individuals who have a connection in the area to ask for funding as well and we will have a Sponsors Board in a prominent area of the hall to record the donations of significant sponsors either as individuals or organisations. We would also continue with other fundraising activities to ensure that everyone could contribute to the new hall irrespective of their means.

Johnny talked about the green measures which we hope to include in the hall which will help to reduce our running costs as well as helping the environment. We have already identified potential grants for such activities and will be carrying out a detailed investigation to ensure that they are financially viable for us before including them in the design. He stated that the aim of the project was to have a hall that the village can be proud of which is attractive, useful and economical to run as an asset to the village not an expensive burden on future generations.

The council have already responded to our informal pre planning application and have not raised any objections to the plans so far or to the green as the site for it.

The meeting was then opened up for questions from the floor and a lively debate took place with the majority of attendees contributing. The discussions covered the following areas:-

Location:

A number of people questioned the decision to locate the hall on the green and not the playing field. The team explained that the survey showed that two thirds of people who responded wanted the hall to be on the green. They also explained that the response rate from the survey was considered very high by the organisations that we asked and should be taken as a fair reflection on the wishes of the village as a whole. For this reason the project is moving forward with the green as the preferred option and we will not be looking at other options unless we cannot proceed with the green. The team stated that they had looked at refurbishing the existing hall but this was not viable due to the age of the hall and it foundations; indicative quotes we received had shown that it would be a similar amount to the cost of building a new hall.

Design:

Discussions in this area concerned the appearance of the hall. It was explained that we would prefer a timber cladding on the outside of the hall to maintain the look of the existing hall but would have to conform to planning rules and abide by the decisions of the committee. During the detailed planning stage we would be working closely with the council planners to achieve the best possible and acceptable design.

Financial:

The other main area of discussion was around the finances both the initial costing and also the reality of obtaining funding. Johnny explained that the initial figure quoted was based upon builders estimates of £250,000 from the initial design plus approx £30,000 for “green” measures plus professional fees and contingency amounts to allow us to size the project. Once the final design has been completed we will be issuing it to suitable builders to allow them to quote and we hope to reduce the costs where we can. The funding bodies expect a certain standard of builder to undertake the project so we need to make sure that any builders asked to quote would be acceptable to the people providing the money. It was also explained that we may have to build the hall in a modular fashion if we cannot achieve full funding at the start but would only do so if we had a strong indication that we could raise the remaining funds.

The “Green Energy” options were also explained in that we wanted to make the hall as cost effective to run as possible and would carry out an audit of the various technologies to make sure that they would be effective in our location. We have also identified two different organisations that could fund these items totally. This would mean that all the cost savings from the systems would be available to reduce the running costs of the new hall.

This then led to a discussion on the running costs and charges for the new hall. There was a concern that a new hall would lead to higher charges and/or more events as we sought to pay for the hall. The committee explained that the intention was to have the funds raised without committing the hall to future loan repayments and also to design as efficient a hall as possible to keep running costs to a minimum. The actual charges for the new hall will be a matter for the management committee, it was not planned to raise them at this stage or to hold more events unless they were wanted by the villagers. It was also explained that as running costs would be less and also less for repairs, any surplus of income over expenditure would be used to enhance the facilities for the benefit of the villagers.

The meeting ended when there were no further questions from the floor and everyone was thanked for attending.

 

The members of The New Build Committee are as follows:

Johhny Jupp, Charlie Thornton, Bill Potts, Keith Salmon, Dennis Major, Louise Harding, Tony Noble.