Transforming buildings and strengthening communities
Hampshire has well over 200 village halls, with almost every parish having at least one. Most of these are run as charities by a management committee of volunteers, with some of the largest halls having the support of a paid manager as well.
Many of these halls are around 100 years old, having been built in memory of those who died during the First World War. Some are even older than this!
Action Hampshire offers guidance and support to these vital community venues, as well as to centres and halls in urban parts of Hampshire which play a similar key role in their community. Since 2018, Action Hampshire has joined with our national partner charity ACRE and the England-wide network of rural development charities to celebrate Village Halls Week, which highlights the impact these community venues have. They provide a vital meeting space for local people and host all kinds of different activities, groups, and events.
ACRE also runs a loan scheme specifically for village halls, with flexible repayment terms and a low interest rate making it suitable for unincorporated charities (which is the way most village halls are set up). The Rural Community Buildings Loan Fund offers up to £30,000 to help village halls cover cashflow issues with major building projects. It can also be used to fund work which will either increase the organisation’s income (such as making an unused room fit for hiring again) or decrease the organisation’s expenditure (such as fitting insulation or installing solar panels).
Here are two recent Village Hall case studies.
The Victory Hall, Warsash
They borrowed £30,000 from the Rural Community Buildings Loan Fund to fill the gap between expenditure on a major refurbishment project and incoming funds which had been secured. In 2017 the Victory Hall had their roof replaced and various other works carried out to improve the Hall’s insulation. This vital work kept the building in good condition for use by local people and reduced the running costs, securing the organisation’s long-term future.
The Victory Hall is a great venue for wedding receptions and other large parties, with its main hall having a seated capacity of 120. It’s also used by a wide range of groups, from energetic activities like badminton and keep-fit to hobby and support activities like drama and art, the University of the Third Age, and a lunch club for older people.
Copythorne Parish Hall
This hall in the New Forest has also been improved recently. Action Hampshire helped the committee complete its fundraising for an internal refurbishment programme. This included a new heating system, a kitchen re-fit, and the creation of a storage area for chairs to increase the capacity of the main hall. These works came on the back of a major consultation effort with local people and all the groups hiring the Hall, in order to ensure the project would provide facilities that people want.
The Parish Hall committee intended these improvements to make the venue more usable and appealing in a range of ways. The increased capacity will allow hiring groups to include more people in their activities. The improved kitchen will have a greater amount of usable space and storage that is easier to access, as well as being easier to clean. The new heating system is also far more efficient and more reliable than the old system.
It’s notable that this project was planned with a significant impact on the local economy in mind. Local tradespeople were used for all the work and several other people rely on the Hall for their employment, either directly or because they run groups that hire the Hall.
Follow this link to find out more about loans for community buildings
Follow this link to find out more about Victory Hall
Follow this link to find out more about Copythorne
