Author: Chris Paterson - Deacon

On Sunday 28th July, we celebrate 50 years of our Village Hall and we mark St James’ Day. We are so lucky to have the opportunity to celebrate both these key events together. Our church, St James’ Church and our Village Hall are both incredibly important to this small Parish, and whilst the work continues to preserve and renovate the Hall, we can enjoy the opportunity to mark everything they have both provided to the community in the last 50 years. The celebrations begin with a lunch in the Hall at 1230, followed by a special church service at 330 with music and songs from The Singing Ringers and the Hand Bells. The Hare will be open with live music at 8pm from the West Country band, Diving for Pearls.

It will be a wonderful day, celebrating two very important events in our Parish. Come and join in, the celebrations are for everyone.

It has been 6 years since our renovation project started, and we have achieved a great deal and come a long way. The battle we have now is to raise the funds required. Applications to capital grant funders are ongoing and the competition is stiff, especially in the SW, but we can’t let it deter us. We are making applications to the National Lottery, Garfield Weston Foundation, Bernard Sunley Foundation, Cloth Workers Foundation, Platinum Jubilee Fund and we are hoping that we will be eligible for the VCSE capital grant. The final round of the Community Ownership Fund was due to open on 29th May 2024 but the announcement of a General Election has stalled any further information being given. We can only hope that after the 4th July, the opportunity to apply will open up again.

Fund raising is equally as important and so much work has gone in to organising events this year; plant sale, quiz night, the Big Breakfast and the New Year’s Lunch. The volunteers are amazing!

Thank you to everyone who gives their time, energy and commitment.

All ideas and help welcomed with open arms. Let’s hope that 2025 sees the renovation start….

A fantastic amount of work and support this weekend, which saw just over £1000 raised for the renovation. A plant sale in the Hall attracted members of the local community to come along and buy. Plants that had been grown all year and donated by the amazing community of Ashreigney. We will get there!

As we continue to work hard towards raising the funds for our renovation, it’s good to know that ACRE are running their annual campaign to run a spotlight on the contribution that England’s 10,000 + village halls make to rural communities like Ashreigney.

The theme is ‘go green’ which given our plans for the renovation; improving the thermal efficiency, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and investing in sustainable technology, we are certainly aiming in the right direction.

The Board of Trustees have decided to focus on the issue of recycling which currently is tackled in the main by users taking glass and other recyclable items back home with them to their own recycling bins. We want to do better. Please get in touch if you would like to help us take the work forward

The renovation project has progressed a long way. Please come to the Hall on 13th January 2024 between 5-6pm, just before the formal opening of The Hare, and enjoy the fun and games, some food and of a course a cold drink but above all have your say. This project is a community project and we need the community to engage with it to ensure that it continues to meet your needs and priorities. See you there!

It’s time to celebrate……..this Saturday the Village Hall hosts the annual Garden Show and this year it’s special. We will be celebrating 50 years of our Village Hall and we want everyone to join in and enjoy a wonderful day filled with fun, games, a BBQ and of course the Pop Up Pub. Best of all, it gives all of us the opportunity to get together and help raise some funds for our renovation.

Our aim was to achieve Building Regs Approval by this Summer. Having made contact with the Building Control Officer to fully understand their requirements, we have completed a number of actions required. We have engaged the help of professionals to produce the detailed drawings for us and we are hopeful that we can remain on target…..