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ITEM EX16 - ANNEX 1

GRANT AID FOR VILLAGE HALL/COMMUNITY CENTRE PROJECTS 2002/03: OUTSTANDING APPLICATIONS OCTOBER 2002

1. ASTON VILLAGE HALL (West Oxon) Pop. 1300

Project: To build a self contained extension to the hall to provide a small hall/activity room, accessible toilet and storage area and to build a stage in the hall where there is currently a storage area.

Est. Cost: £88,000 (mostly VAT zero-rated)

Other funding £

Village Hall Committee 4,000

Parish Council 20,000 (agreed)

District Council 30,800 (agreed)

WREN 5,000 (agreed plus invite to apply for more)

Awards for All 5,000 (applied)

Trusts 2,000 (applied)

66,800

County grant sought: £10,000 (11%)

Element of local fundraising: £27%

Planning permission/Building Regs.:

Planning permission obtained and Building Regulations applied for.

Need: The hall was built with basic accommodation in 1985. Since then the village population has grown by 25%. The hall is fully used by this active community and there is now no capacity to accommodate new activities. There is a need for a stage for a thriving drama group. The current committee room is very small. There is no fully accessible toilet.

Hall uses: Polling station, meetings, elderly people’s club, lunch club, youth club, WI, bingo, brownies, drama, private functions, dances, discos, concerts, plays, film shows, fundraising events, exhibitions, changing facilities for sport on adjacent field, art group.

New uses proposed when space available: garden club, guides, keep fit, FE classes, ICT classes, yoga.

General: The proposed work will significantly enhance and expand the hall’s facilities in response to local need. Although a Community Fund application was unsuccessful, other sources of funding have been identified. A County Council grant at this stage will help to complete the funding package. It is hoped that WREN (landfill tax credits) will be able to provide the shortfall. The work can then start early in 2003.

ORCC recommendation: Grant of £11,186

2. TACKLEY VILLAGE HALL (West Oxon) Pop.1,000+

Project: To extend and re-organise the village hall to accommodate a community shop and Post Office, coffee bar, improved kitchen and toilets and improved changing rooms.

Est. Cost: £426,000

Other funding £

Rural Enterprise Scheme (DEFRA) 187,000 (applied for)

District Council 100,000 (agreed)

Countryside Agency 25,000 (agreed)

Carnegie Trust 10,000 (agreed)

Parish Council 20,000 (agreed)

Village Hall & Shop Cttees. 54,000 (in hand)

County grant sought: £10,000

Element of local fundraising: Likely to be 20%

Planning permission/Building Regs: Planning permission obtained

Need: The hall has not been modernised since it was built in the 1970s. The village has lost its shop and post office. There is a new village hall committee committed to improving and extending facilities at the hall to provide a social and service focus for the village.

Hall uses: Immunisation clinic, polling station, meetings, elderly people’s club and lunch, youth club, mothers and toddlers, bingo, scouts, cubs, drama, private functions, dances and discos, concerts, plays.

New uses when hall improved: community shops, post office, IT facilities, delivery point, playgroup, keep fit, womens institute, F.E. classes.

General: This is a well planned imaginative project with considerable local support. Although a bid to the Community Fund was unsuccessful, the committee has now applied to DEFRA’s Rural Enterprise Scheme for the same amount. Even if this bid is not successful, there is already £200,000 of funding agreed. The Village Hall Committee will then re-think the project and do as much work as they can in 2003, as they are anxious not to lose any more time. A contribution from the County Council at this stage will therefore be helpful, whichever course is taken.

ORCC recommendation: Grant of £11,186

3. WEST HENDRED VILLAGE HALL (Vale of White Horse) Pop. 367

Project: To build a new village hall to replace the existing hall which is nearly 100 years old.

Est. Cost : £228,675

Other funding £

District Council 30,000 (agreed)

Parish Council 250 (agreed)

Community Fund 107,000 (applied)

WREN (Landfill Tax Credits) 50,000 (applied – invited to reapply later)

Village Hall Committee 12,500 (6,000 in hand)

Other sources including trusts 25,000 (applied)

County grant sought: £5,000

Element of local fundraising: 6%

Planning permission/Building Regs: Planning permission obtained.

Need: The floor in the existing hall is becoming dangerous. The village has agreed that due to the age and poor quality of the hall (built 1911), it is not worth repairing, but that a new hall should be planned.

Hall uses: Polling station, meetings, keep fit, dancing classes, band practice, Sunday school, private functions, fundraising events, craft fairs, art exhibitions, local history group.

New uses proposed in new hall: elderly people’s club, youth club, mothers and toddlers, drama, badminton, indoor bowls, table tennis, concerts, plays.

General

This is a small village without a school or shop. This is a much needed project which will ensure the future of a village meeting place and will extend the range of use of the hall. The new hall will have a stage, which is not in the existing hall. The existing hall is cold and unattractive to users. The state of the floor is also restricting use. However, the new hall project is still in its early stages and the ORCC feels it is still too early for consideration by the Council. The outcome of the Community Fund application will be known early in 2003.

ORCC recommendation

The application to be held over by ORCC for re-consideration in 2003/04 in the light of progress with other major funding bids.

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