MINUTES OF HULLAVINGTON NEW VILLAGE HALL PROJECT GROUP MEETING

MONDAY 24^TH JANUARY 2005, 8PM AT THE COURT HOUSE

PRESENT: Dave Hunt, Bob Fenner, John Greenwood, Julian Greenman, Peter Parry-Williams, Jebbie Hewitt, William Harmer, Paul Hadley, Fraser Haffenden, John Metters, Anne Durrant, Evelyn Lewis (representing WI)

1.      New Village Hall Project Business

1.1.  Apologies: Nick Hathaway, Victoria Castle, Maggie Bawden.

1.2.  Minutes of the last meeting held on 15^th December 2004 were agreed.

1.3.  Matters arising – there were none

1.4.  Update on lease – a surveyor working for the Bristol Diocese has valued the hall site at £115,000 with the lease remaining, and £250,000 at today’s values with no lease.

If we were to be granted an Albemarle lease the rental fees could, in the worst case, be expected to be in the region of £6,000 per year, taking into account the value of the land. There would need to be a threefold increase in hall charges to make the hall viable. If we decided to go this route and hope for a more reasonable ground rent, maybe based on a percentage of profit, then there would be a long period of time waiting for the lease to be finalised. During this time we could not begin building as the outcome of the lease would not be certain. Julian suggested that rent payments could be included in the parish precept.

If we were to build on the present site, using the remaining 16 years left on the present lease, then the Bristol Diocese would be obliged to sell the land, and the future of the hall, after the lease expired, would be very uncertain. It was felt not to be a responsible use of funds.

An option may be for the Bristol Diocese to sell the land to the Parish Council at its value with the remaining lease. The PC could then sell it on the open market at its full value without a lease, the difference going to hall funds to find and build on a greenfield site. Paul suggested that the Bristol Diocese and PC could work together to sell the land, so eliminating the need for 2 separate sales.

Before a decision can be made we need to know

·        if a private sale to PC is feasible (or a sale working with the Bristol Diocese)

·        what would be the rental arrangements with an Albemarle lease.

1.5.  Framework option

1.5.1.     – A group from the Project Group went to visit an example of a Framework building in Melksham. It was a pre-school, larger than our planned hall, with a pent roof sloping from 4m down to 3m. Roof windows and large side windows gave plenty of natural light; it had a flexible interior and was wood clad. The pre-school had obtained grants for energy conservation projects.

1.5.2.     – The technical specifications for the Framework building quote have been clarified by looking at the Framework website. It is: www.frameworkcdm.com/f.o.html

1.6.  Decision for hall layout/floorplan – after much discussion about the pros and cons of both the Securacomm layout and the Gossage layout, a vote was taken. 5 were in favour of the Gossage layout and 7 were in favour of the Securaccom layout, so it was decided to move forward with the latter. Framework and other modular building manufacturers will be asked to quote using the Securaccom floorplan.

1.7.  The Village Website has offered to publicise the Project Group news updates and it was agreed to use this channel. A few people in the village have offered to take on areas of work, which will be very welcome.

1.8.  Insurance – Bob has received assurance that the insurance money will not be reduced by administration charges, as had been feared.

1.9.  Grittleton Ball – Jebbie has set the date for Friday 20^th May. We will need to sell at least 150 – 200 tickets to raise any money for the new hall. Bob suggested that the Project Group back the project financially so that Jebbie has some security.

1.10.                   AOB – there was none.

1.11.                   Date of next meeting – Monday 21^st February 2005 at 8pm at The Court House.