MINUTES OF HULLAVINGTON NEW VILLAGE HALL PROJECT GROUP MEETING
PRESENT: Dave Hunt, Bob Fenner, John Greenwood, Joan Shaw, Liz Parry-Williams, Peter Parry-Williams, Jebbie Hewitt, William Harmer, Paul Hadley, Nick Hathaway, Victoria Castle, Maggie Bawden, John Metters, Anne Durrant, Evelyn Lewis.
1. New Village Hall Project Business
1.1. Apologies: Julian Greenman. Neil Hamilton, Victor Rawlins
1.2. Minutes of the last meeting held on 21st February – There was a slightly grey area around Neil’s comments on building on the present site. The problem of the PCC’s reversionary interest was not insurmountable.
1.3. Matters arising – Paul asked if the minutes were available to the public, and if this was the case that the contents be checked for suitability. Bob suggested that the minutes could be put on the village website.
1.4. Update on lease – John pointed out that the old lease consisted of 2 parts: the 1971 Lease and Trust Deed and the Schedule.
John’s opinion is that the schedule has worked well in the past and allows the committee to make changes as needed. There are some areas where he feels that the CC needs to be approached but this should not be a big problem. The timescale for the Albermarle Lease is expected to be around 3 months after all questions have been resolved.
1.5. Rules for the management of the hall – William, David and Bob will work on writing new rules for the management of the hall e.g. how many representatives from user groups, notification of AGM, distribution of minutes etc.
1.6. Final design issues – Peter reported that the sub group has been looking at tweaking the agreed basic design. It will have a pitched roof of 22 degrees. There will be quite a substantial space in the loft area and the group are looking at using some of this space for storage with ladder access.
Since the last report there have been 4 significant additions to the design:
· The hall area will now be open to the eaves for its entire length. The roof will be asymmetric and the supporting structures will be visible but it will give more of a feeling of space. The other rooms will have a 3m high false ceiling added.
· There will be a sliding screen at the end of the hall where the stage would be and the area behind this can be used for storage
· Another door has been added to the rear and the building has been rotated by a few degrees to give a slightly increased space to the rear, both items mainly for the benefit of pre-school.
· A canopy porch has been added to the front door.
Bob commented that we now have a good product, superior to the old hall, and we are almost guaranteed to get planning approval. There is still uncertainty about the type of floor we will chose; concrete rafts are a proven technology and good for disabled access as no ramps will be needed. However, suspended flooring gives better heat insulation and is cheaper to install, but the addition of ramps would be an extra cost, would be unsightly and would require maintenance. Peter commented that ramps are not necessary as Securaccom would landscape to the doors. Paul commented that there is the possibility of having under floor heating with concrete rafts. Committee members agreed to let the sub group decide on the flooring and the final design of the hall.
William reported that Terrapin are quoting a basic price of nearly £220,000 with a concrete raft being £10,400 extra, Bath stone cladding an extra £28,600 and a hearing enhancement system and lighting for a stage an extra £2,000. Paul suggested that we need a contingency sum as the price for preparing the foundations may well change if problems are encountered.
After consultation Bob now believes that putting out 4 requests for tenders will be sufficient.
1.7. Overall project plan – Bob has compiled a project plan to give an overall view of the project. He stressed that until all tasks have been completed the new hall will not be built and that we are understaffed at present. More people need to take on tasks if the hall project is to be completed. The project plan gives an optimistic view of timescales; work on building cannot start until the new lease has been granted and, assuming that timescales are met, then the new hall would be ready for opening end of April 2006.
How much can be done before the lease has been signed? We can apply for planning permission – there is a 50% reduction in cost if we apply through the PC. Maggie commented that North Wilts advisors at the Planning Department are very approachable and will help with preparing the planning application.
Paul thought that it was risky putting out requests for tenders until the lease has been granted as most tenders are usually only valid for 30 or 60 days. Nick will find out details of timescales in the tendering process. Paul agreed to prepare for the tendering process.
The drainage and resurfacing of the car park – the work could be included in the building of the hall or we could ask separate contractors to quote for the work. The former would be the easiest option and would mean that the drainage and plumbing work could be co-ordinated with the car park work. However this may be the most expensive option. Maggie has the names of 4 contractors for the car park work.
1.8. Additional volunteers – Mark Collard and Helen Kemp have agreed to take on 3 of the tasks itemised in the project plan; investigating the VAT situation, funding possibilities and researching hall contents costs and sourcing. More people are needed to take on specific tasks. Bob will list the tasks on the village website with a request for help.
1.9. Summer ball – has been cancelled due to insufficient support from the village community.
1.10. Donation – Mike Gossage has requested support for running the London Marathon in aid of the British Heart Foundation. It was felt that the requests were aimed at individuals rather than the committee and that it was more appropriate for individuals to decide for themselves whether to support him.
1.11. AOB –
Date of next meeting – Monday 18th April 2005 at 8pm in the church.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 10pm.