New Village Hall – History So Far

March 2004

17th March 2004 the Village Hall burnt down

Much of the contents removed from the hall, as the original store cupboard and other storage areas were almost untouched.

The Loss Adjustor on behalf of the Hall Insurers ruled that the hall should be completely demolished

An extra ordinary meeting of the Village Hall committee determined that

1. A New Village Hall Project Group should be set up
2. The Village Hall Committee would remain in existence for the time being.

April

At a meeting with the Church PCC, who lease the land on which the hall was built to the Parish Council, it was indicated that it was their intention to renew the existing lease on the Hall site for a further 50 years subject to checking the existing Deed Documents and approval by the Bristol Diocese.

A request was made for people with relevant skills to join the New Hall Project group

Tenders obtained for Hall Demolition

May

AGM of Village Hall Committee – Village Fete and support for the Autumn Show to continue.

The first meeting of New Village Hall Project group, with Bob Fenner as Project Co-ordinator.

The Village Appraisal Group of the Parish Council expressed a willingness to include specific questions with regard a new hall in its forthcoming village questionnaire. Should we:

The results from this survey would be used as an indication of the way forward

Groups established within the Project Group to investigate

Old Village Hall demolished

June

The PCC reported that ‘there is general enthusiasm for assisting the village in building a new Hall…and to extend the lease’

It was established that it was unlikely the Community Fund (National Lottery) would provide any funding. The village is not disadvantaged.

Investigations into prefabricated buildings provided indications of options and lead times. Visits to other new village halls in the area begin

Local town planners suggest that a green field site on the edge of the village would be their preferred option for the new hall but that any proposal to rebuild on the existing site would not be opposed

July

The results of the Village Hall appraisal published. Indicated a majority of those who completed the questionnaire in favour of building a new hall with extra funds through the Parish Precept.

Pre-school indicated that it could raise £20000 through grants but only if it could have 8 sessions in the hall per week.(Five mornings and three afternoons). The New Hall Project Group felt uneasy at making this commitment despite accepting the importance of pre-school to the community. The hall is foremost a community hall.

Report on the new hall at Biddestone.

It was established that a loan could be obtained relatively easy from the Public Works Loan Board. To be repaid through the Parish Precept.

The pre-constructed working group provided first indications of costs for a hall very much based on the design of the old.

The New Hall Project Group was almost unanimous in voting to build on the existing site for speed and cost.

August

Visits made to examine pre-constructed buildings at Chippenham and at Corsham of different suppliers.

Reports on visits to Sutton Benger, North Wraxall, Yatton Kennel and Chitterne Village Halls.

It was agreed that a traditional build of a hall should also be investigated

Investigation into possible grant sources suggested that a grant via the Land Fill Tax Credit Scheme offered the most hope of success.

September

A letter received on behalf of a local farmer offering a green field site. After consideration the Project Group confirmed its previous decision to rebuild on the existing site.

It was reported that the Parish Council had, in principle, unanimously agreed to a loan on behalf of the new village hall. At this stage it was believed that accurate cost figures would need to be presented to the December meeting of the PC in order that they could budget for the year 2005/06

A more detailed layout of the pre-constructed design was presented and discussed

A new design of traditional build was presented and discussed. This had two halls separated by a kitchen area and was considered to be more advantageous for use by pre-school, but at a greater cost that the pre-constructed.

A vote on the preference of the above two layouts produced a 50/50 divide amongst the Project Group, and so it was decided to present the options to an open meeting of the village

October

After presentations of the two alternatives to a gathering of approximately 80 people, and discussion and questions, an open vote indicated preference for the pre-constructed way forward (2/1 for)

November

First indication from the PCC that there was a serious problem with the renewal of the lease.

Although both the PCC and the Bristol Diocese wished to extend the current lease it would have to be done via the Albermarle Scheme. This could take months.

Fears were concerned with regard the accuracy of costs needed for presentation to the Parish Council by the December meeting

It was indicated that it was possible to pre-construct a hall to the proposed ‘traditional’ design and a company suggested who would quote.

It was decided to obtain three quotations before the December deadline

December

It was reported that at the November meeting of the PC it had been established that the PC had sufficient funds to repay any loan payments for the year 2005/6 and therefore an exact requirement figure from the Hall Project Group was not required for December, thus relaxing the timescale pressures. When the true cost is known then a loan can be obtained.

With regard the lease it appeared that there were two options

Further investigation with regard both possibilities required

Quotations from all three pre-construction companies obtained

The pre-school outlined its present difficulties

An outline business case was presented that indicated that the pre-school provide 46% of the annual income. With a new hall it would be likely that rental charges might well have to be increased by 18%. Without pre-school that figure might be 78%.

In comparing the above quotations it was difficult to compare the ‘traditional design’ quote against the other two because of its lack of detail and specification. It was decided that more detailed information was required and that a visit to a building supplied by the company would be of value.

January 2005

A surveyor on behalf of the PCC valued the Village Hall site at £250,000 but with the adjustment for the current outstanding 16-year lease revised to £115,000.

A visit to a building built by the company that provided the ‘traditional design’ quotation was reported. Generally there was a favourable opinion, particularly with regard ceiling height. The outside was not so attractive.

After much discussion with regards the two floor plans a vote came out in favour 7/5 for proceeding with the layout similar to the old hall.

February

The surveyor working for the PCC had produced a draft report in which he recommended terms for a new lease the most important of which were

Considering the above and the possible alternatives it was considered that the Albermarle route was the favoured way forward.

The lease consists of two parts

It was decided that a number of committee members should consider the Schedule, bringing it up-to-date where necessary and define areas at present unclear. This would be presented to the PCC and along with the Lease and Trust Deed be presented to the Diocesan solicitor.

Following a vote of committee members it was agreed that a height of 3.1 metres at the eves of the new hall was acceptable. The buildings sub committee would finalise the plans for the new hall

A revised Schedule was prepared and presented to the PCC

March

The solicitor working on behalf of the Bristol Diocesan informed the PCC that he was not in a position to submit the revised Schedule to the Charity Commission, only the new Lease and Trust Deed (conflict of interest). The Schedule was a matter for the Hall Committee to take up with the Charity Commission direct.

It was agreed that the original Schedule does provide scope for the revision of the Schedule, without reference to the CC.

It was reported that when the new Albermarle Scheme is submitted to the Charity Commission it would probably be at least three months before a decision would be forthcoming

The building sub group reported that a number of further adjustments had been made to the new hall design

The project group agreed to let the building sub group make the final decision on the hall floor

• Concrete raft or
• Suspended

The Project Co-ordinator presented a project plan, which listed in nearly 100 tasks that needed or would need to be addressed to complete the project. More volunteers would be needed to take on these tasks.

April/May/June

The building sub group continued to refine the new hall design.

The PCC reported that the Charity Commission are 'prepared on this occasion to overlook the breach of trust and make an [Albemarle] Scheme authorising a new 35 year lease on the terms recommended by the PCC surveyor's report'. 

The Pre-School indicated that they intended to try and obtain authority and finance to build their own building on the village school site.
In anticipation of not having a pre-school presence and the loss of income that would result, the New Hall committee made the decision to slightly down size the hall footprint. Savings made by reducing storage area rather than hall area.

The design was further refined particularly in the area of the kitchen and entrance hall.

The design specification was completed and the necessary tender documentation and procedures put in place.

July

Requests for tender were submitted to:

• Terrapin
• Bond Modular Ltd
• Wraith Accomodation
• Phoenix Building Systems

September

Three tender replies received

Seven members of the Village Hall Committee met to open and consider the tender replies. Three hours were spent in deliberation, considering each ones response to the specification. At the end of this period there was a unanimous vote in favour of accepting the Terrapin quotation.

On the basis of the decision of the tender evaluation group a recommendation that the contract for replacing the village hall should be placed with Terrapin was proposed at the meeting of Hullavington Parish Council. It was unanimously approved, as was the proposal that the Parish Council should now proceed with the necessary Planning application.