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Village Halls Advisory Service A Village Hall can be the most valuable asset of any community. A properly maintained building of adequate size, well kept and well managed, can provide facilities for social, educational and recreational activities for all ages. In East and West Sussex there are some 309 village halls, most of which are charities run by volunteers. Action in rural Sussex provides an advisory service on all aspects of hall management and we can assist with:
Contact details for the Village Halls Team are given below. An important asset to the service is the Sussex Village Halls Advisory Group, which represents volunteer village hall trustees who help AirS staff deliver an advisory service which meets ever changing needs. Groups members are happy to share their experience with other halls and their contact details are also below. Nicola Dudley, Village Halls Administrator Louise Beaton, Village Hall Policy Consultant Helen Atkin, Village Halls Consultant (East Sussex) Regine Miller, Village Halls Consultant (West Sussex) AirS Village Halls Advisory Service is part of a national advisory network for community buildings provided by Action with Communities in Rural England and its member Rural Community Councils. For details of contacts elsewhere in the country please visit the village halls page on the ACRE website: www.acre.org.uk. Services provided to Village Halls which are members of AirS Advice is available free of charge to managers of all types of community buildings in East and West Sussex. Additional Services are available for villages halls, community associations, parish councils and similar organisations managing community buildings which are members of AirS. These include:
ACRE Village Hall Information Sheets
Other Village Hall Publications
What has the Village Halls Advisory Service Achieved in Recent Years? Funding capital improvements is one of the major problems faced by trustees of charitable village halls, community centres and similar organizations such as church halls, scout huts etc. For smaller repairs or improvements we can usually direct enquirers to one or two appropriate funders, but lack of public funding makes it difficult to put together the funding package needed for major improvement or rebuilding projects. Approximately 73 communities are currently looking for funding, either to modernize, repair, rebuild or extend halls or develop facilities to provide new services or provide a hall for a community which does not have one. All local authorities have power to provide funding for such projects and AirS has lobbied to maintain funding streams in the face of pressures on county and district funding. Without this “up front” evidence of local authority support funding cannot be levered in from outside the county. We encourage halls to support this by direct lobbying of their own councillors and key local authority staff. In 2006 West Sussex County Council agreed to fund up to 15% of successful projects applying to the Big Lottery Fund Community Buildings programme. Chichester, Mid Sussex, Wealden and Rother District Councils all provide grant aid towards capital projects. Arun, Lewes and Horsham currently do not. In 2006 AirS won £100,000 in GOSE ChangeUp funding to help make village halls in the two counties fit for purpose. AirS has been active in lobbying by ACRE and the National Village Halls Forum for improved funding nationally, which opened access to DEFRA’s Rural Enterprise Scheme and the 2006 – 9 Big Lottery Fund Community Buildings programme. Support for major capital improvement projects is often required over a period of three to ten years. Staff can advise about community consultation and engagement, fundraising, design, project management, funding, preparing a business plan and VAT, attending public meetings and critical trustee meetings. Advice in the five years to 2007 has levered joint funding for community buildings from parish councils, district councils, Big Lottery Fund and formerly the Community Fund, DEFRA Rural Enterprise Scheme, Landfill Operators, charitable trusts with a total value well in excess of £1 million, to supplement local fundraising.. The Sussex Village Halls Advisory Group. This was established in 2004 to represent and help advise halls. The Group helps plan, run and contribute to our workshops and conferences and lobbies for improvements in legislation to help village halls. In 2006 members helped carry out grant assessments for the GOSE fund. The Group has lobbied on funding, the Licensing Act and the Parish Council Code of Conduct and members have contributed Topic Notes and articles for our Mailings. Workshops and Conferences: In recent years topics covered have included the Licensing Act, Fire Regulations, new Environmental Health regulations, funding capital improvements, developing use of village halls for services, improving financial sustainability, improving management, insurance and trustee liability. AiRS can also offer National Certificate for Personal Licence Holder courses so that halls can obtain premises licences to sell alcohol, subject to demand. In depth advice given to halls with long-running problems. In some cases this includes putting them in touch with appropriate professional advice from ACRE or SALC. Recent examples include: - Advice to help trustees of a community centre re-negotiate an Occupation Licence with the Social Club, including providing independent advice and minutes for negotiating meetings and the AGM, over 11 months ; - advice to halls in dispute with local landowners or parish councils eg over rights of way and leases, over several years; - advice to trustees suspecting possible fraud; - advice over problems with recruitment of trustees, incorporation and liability issues; - advice over possible development of hall sites in relation to local planning/housing proposals and Charity Commission requirements; - advice about legal structures, understanding their deeds and role of trustees; The Future Lack of availability of funding for major capital improvements will continue to be a key problem, particularly as some projects applying for the BLF Community Buildings programme will inevitably be disappointed. Opportunities for Parish Council funding and funding from SEEDA will continue to be pursued. In 2006 - 8 we shall be encouraging halls to address two issues: the scope for improving service delivery in rural areas through community buildings and their role in addressing climate change. Major Village Hall Improvement Projects 2002 – 2007 West Sussex Oving Village Hall, Chichester – New Hall opened 2002 Milland Village Hall, Chichester – Refurbishment completed 2002 Lower Beeding Village Hall, Horsham – Upgrading for DDA completed 2002 Ashington Community Centre, Horsham – New hall opened 2003 Hurstpierpoint Village Centre, Mid Sussex – completed 2003 Tangmere Village Centre, Chichester – extension opened 2004 The Kelsey Hall, Ifold, Plaistow, Chichester – extension 2004 Tillington Village Hall, Chichester – refurbishment 2004 Lavant Village Hall, Chichester – DDA access work 2004 Yapton and Ford Village Hall, Arun – Replacement heating 2005 St Wilfrid’s Church Hall, Chichester – roof repairs 2005 Stedham Village Hall, Chichester – Refurbishment 2005 Lurgashall Village Hall, Chichester – Modernisation 2005 Fittleworth Village Hall, Chichester – Refurbishment 2005 Birdham Village Hall, Chichester – Refurbishment work 2006 Washington Village Hall, Horsham – Extension 2006 Clymping Village Hall, Arun – Refurbishment 2006 Fernhurst Village Hall, Chichester – 3 phase refurbishment completed 2006 Balcombe, Mid Sussex – Replacement heating, toilets and DDA access 2005/6. Ashenground Community Centre, Mid Sussex – Rebuilding on site 2007
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Village Halls Newsletter Spring 08 Village Hall Newsletter is available for download Hallmark Award Want to know more about the Hallmark national standards scheme? Click here! |
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