Village Hall Update
The building contract with the Construction Company to rebuild the Village Hall has been agreed and signed. It has been a long process, from the consultations on the design for the new Village Hall, through applying for grants, finding the right builder and getting the structural engineer’s plans, to ensuring that the contract with the builders is watertight and signing the contract.
Work starts on Monday 14 September and will take a year to complete. There will be a new access to the play area and bowling green made through the hedge near the stile towards the Cleaves houses. This is necessary for site health and safety and will be there for the duration of the construction.
There will be no vehicular access to the playing field, so the grass on the main field will remain uncut. However, the play area will continue to be maintained. The memorial gates will be removed. Holkham Forge will clean and extend the iron gates, and the Construction Company will rebuild the piers (and remount the memorial plaques) with a wider access at the end of the project. The Parish Council hopes that building works do not cause too much inconvenience to the residents in the vicinity. If you have any issues which you wish to raise, please contact the Parish Clerk (details overleaf).
Now that the building work has started, we need to set up a Management Group to organise the running of the Village Hall (bookings, cleaning, safeguarding etc.) If you are interested in joining this group, please contact the Parish Clerk clerk@walsinghamparishcouncil.gov.uk .
Buy a Brick to help rebuild the Village Hall
Walsingham Recreation Trust has started a GoFundMe page https://www.gofundme.com/manage/walsingham-village-hall-phoenix-project to ‘Buy a Brick’ and other options as below:
- £10 – Buy a Brick
- £50 – Buy a Brick with a dedication*
- £75 – Help the Heating
- £100 – Support the Roof
- £300 – sponsor a sink with dedication plaque*
- £4,000 – sponsor the kitchen serving hatch with dedication plaque*
- £6,000 – sponsor the bar serving hatch with dedication plaque*
*email the Clerk on walsinghampc@googlemail.com to discuss and confirm your dedication.
It was a great shock to the community when the Village Hall was devastated by fire in January 2023.
The Parish Council and Walsingham Recreation Trust of which the Council is trustee, hope that good will come out of that disaster and that in time we will be able to rebuild a better and more attractive Village Hall.
The cost of a new village hall, including revamping the car park and making a raised patio (overlooking the playing field and to allow for step-free access around the building) is estimated to be in the region of £1 million leaving a shortfall of about £300,000 to £400,000 depending on the insurance payout. We are applying for a couple of large grants as well as smaller ones, and any assistance in reaching the funding goal of £1 million will be much appreciated.
You can use the QR code below to get to the GoFundMe page:
Recreation Ground
The recreation ground remains open and available for use. The site of the hall which is partially demolished, has been barricaded off.
There is a football pitch, skate ramp and an enclosed all weather multi purpose sports court with basketball/netball hoops. At the side of the hall there is a children’s playground with a variety of equipment, including swings and climbing frame, and seating.
No dogs are allowed on the recreation ground or in the children’s play area.
For more information contact the Clerk to the Parish Council walsinghampc@googlemail.com or telephone 01328 822366.