New £450,000 village hall starting to take shape

Lady Belinda Gadsden, centre, on a site visit.

Work began just before Christmas and the foundations and steel structure of the building are now in place.

Last summer it had seemed the project might stall before it even started when rising costs left the village hall committee with a £50,000 shortfall.

Cutbacks and amendments were made and the target was reached.

Lady Belinda Gadsden, who so generously leased the land where the new hall is sited and who assisted in providing a loan to cover a funding shortfall, visited the site herself last week to check on progress.

The committee managed to raise the funds through a combination of personal donations, grants and funding awards – including a six-figure sum from the National Lottery - a Crowdfunding appeal and a long term loan from Ellingham Estates.

“The way the community has rallied around has been absolutely amazing. We set out with some extremely ambitious plans and to be honest we didn’t really know if we would be able to pull it off,” said committee member Gus MacLeod.

Fellow committee member Graham Edmondson added: “People have been staggeringly generous in offering their support.

"In particular, Lady Belinda and Ellingham Estate have been so helpful in providing their support, in leasing the land for the new build and in providing a loan to bridge a shortfall in our funding.”

The new hall replaces an ageing corrugated hut which dates from the turn of the 20th century.

The new hall will be able to provide facilities for an expanding community and there are have plans to form a film club, a parent toddler playgroup, and to provide musical evenings, fitness classes, IT support to villagers and a host of recreational events at the heart of the community.

“It's exciting to see the building take shape, bit by bit the vision is becoming a reality,” said Chris Stevenson, another committee member.

“People should stop by and see what is happening because you can see the thing coming together day by day.”

It is hoped to have the new hall functional by early summer.