Ellingham VIllage Hall Rebuild

Aim

To raise the final sum of money to make the new Ellingham Village Hall become a reality.

So Close, Yet So Far

We set out to raise a target of £400,000, which was the original estimate given to us by architects last year and we have worked astonishingly hard to raise that sum. 

It has been a phenomenal effort, with so many people in the community involved, and we were proud of our achievement. But we now face the tragic possibility that all of our work has been in vain. 

Despite achieving our financial goal, we now find that, now that we have gone out to tender, the builders’ quotes have come back some way in excess of our original estimate. Of course, we know that the building materials supply issues, rising building costs and the effects of Covid-19 have all played their part in this increase, but it leaves us facing the real possibility that all our effort, and the generosity of all our donors, will come to nothing. 

To complicate the situation, we are now fast approaching a time deadline such that, if we cannot raise the revised total within the next couple of months, we will not have sufficient funding to complete the build and the whole project will fail.

We have of course, tried everything imaginable in a bid to “get this over the line” but we are still left with a shortfall of about £45-£50,000. Hence our desperation in setting up this appeal and asking for your consideration of our request. We hope you understand why we are turning to you to ask for any help you can provide to save this project and to ensure that all our efforts do not come to nothing? 

Anything that you could potentially offer would be an enormous help towards us bridging the shortfall and saving the project. 

On the following pages we have outlined some of the key background to our situation. If you would like to speak with us directly, to understand the seriousness of our situation, then we would be delighted to chat with you.

You can reach us via email at [email protected] or you can  call Gus, teh Chairman, on  07896595082 

Our Community is Changing- And We Need to Meet Those New Needs

Ellingham Parish is a sparsely populated parish, situated about 9 miles north of Alnwick. The village itself has a population of approximately 300 people, and is located in an area of relative rural isolation, with no shops, (the nearest village with a shop being 6 miles away), poor public transport and no other place to meet, other than the ever-popular village pub.  

Although the populace in the Parish is made up of a high percentage of elderly and relatively less affluent people, there is also a rising number of very young children and more families are moving into the area.  

Our community is changing- and we have no suitable physical space which could provide a focal point for the community. Integrating new villagers into our community is impossible unless there is a place which provides the facility to mix socially and to come together as a community.

The Village Hall is Vital to Our Community

Despite the very inadequate facilities of the existing building, the village hall is still crucial to our community as:

• A social hub: There is no other place to meet (except the local pub). The Village Hall has a programme of activities to engage the community and to counter isolation and promote health and welfare and general wellbeing. 
• A meeting venue: It currently hosts meetings and gatherings such as monthly coffee mornings, craft fairs, presentation evenings, the local Leek Club meetings and quiz evenings.  
• Arts and Culture/Entertainment Centre: We have hosted musical evenings, and community events for the villagers
• A place for physical activities: Weekly yoga, Zumba, “Gentle Exercise” and table tennis sessions take place and are extremely well attended.  
• A Village Playgroup: Some parents have tried to hold parent toddler sessions, but the old floor was not conducive for the children to crawl on. 

But in reality, our effort is more about what we COULD do, rather than what we have been able to do so far. It is about the things that we are prevented from doing because of the state of the building which causes us most concern when look to the future and the changing needs of our community. 

 The Existing Hall is Simply Not Fit for Purpose 

The existing Village Hall was built just before 1900.  It is a very small shed-like building comprising a small hall with a bench area which serves as a ‘servery’ (there is no kitchen), two (M & F) toilets directly off the hall, a small porch and a storage cupboard. It is constructed of corrugated metal, and it is situated on a very small piece of fenced land (only large enough to allow maintenance of the building). There is no insulation, so the hall is very cold in winter. There is no space for outdoor activities and no parking. Furthermore, it is not easily accessible and our three village residents who rely on a wheelchair, are unable to get into the building and are therefore excluded from our activities – which concerns us greatly.

The hall is just not ‘fit for purpose’, and the existing building is woefully inadequate to meet the needs of 21st century village life.

The New Hall Will Provide the Community with So Many More Facilities 

The Village Hall Committee is focused on providing a building appropriate to the changing circumstances within our local community. We have worked closely with the local people to assess their views on the provision of a new hall, to consult on the architect plans and to develop appropriate activities and use of the hall.  

The new build will provide a greatly improved social centre for those in the village and for the scattered populace in the rural community.  The new hall will have access for wheelchair users and those with limited mobility. Facilities will include a fully functioning kitchen which can serve up hot food for lunches and events. There will be toilets and changing rooms where people will feel confident and comfortable to use.

 Outside the hall there will be a car park and areas designed for social events and a safe area created for children to play. 

New services and activities will be organised, to include a parent and toddler group, youth activities and meeting venue, sports-type activities to include smaller space badminton, carpet bowls and table tennis. Musical entertainment by local musicians is anticipated.  It would be seen as a venue for training workshops and classes with projector and screen facilities. The facilities we aim to provide will offer the possibility of community cinema and local volunteers plan to offer technical support and training to the less tech-savvy members of the community with computers, phones, and on-line shopping etc (we will have broadband to the premises). 

The new hall will be invaluable as a centre for social, health and welfare within our isolated, rural area, and without a new facility we will be unable to meet the needs of our growing community in the future.

The New Village Hall Will Create a Community Hub for The Future

There are many challenges for the future.  This is a rural area with a high proportion of land used for farming, country pursuits, with much of the land ownership in the hands of large private estates.  The village hall is something the community can feel is their own.   

Many people within this rural community are on low incomes or pensions and have limited means to travel far.    The new Village Hall will support the health and welfare needs for the elderly and the young long into the future. 

The Way the Community Has Rallied to Raise Funds Has Been Amazing

The cost of the build and professional fees was originally estimated to be approximately £400,000 according to a Quantity Survey report.

So, we set out to achieve that goal and we are immensely proud to say that we have raised approximately £403,000 to date, with donations from:

• The National Lottery                                 
• Ellingham Community Trust         
• Garfield Weston                               
• Catherine Cookson                                          
• Bernard Sunley                                 
• The Joicey Trust                                
• Sir James Knott                                 
• Runciman Charitable Trust                           
• Barbour Foundation Trust                            
• County Councillor                                             
• Rank Foundation (Pebbles Trust)              
• Northumberland Estates                               
• Tunnocks (tea cakes)   
• The Lord Crewe Charity                                   

We are deeply grateful to everybody who has helped so far, and the generosity of people with their time and money.                                             

But We have A Crisis Situation with Our Funding Effort

We have an acute financial dilemma (a similar understatement was “Houston, We have a problem.”).

Although our whole community has rallied together and worked astonishingly hard to raise our target goal of £400,000, we now face the tragic possibility that our work has been in vain.  Despite achieving our financial goal, the amount our architects and QS experts had estimated, we find that now that we have gone out to tender, the builders’ quotes have come back some way in excess of our original estimate.  

We are now fast approaching a time deadline whereby, unless we can fund the shortfall, the whole project will fail.

Hence our desperation in  pleading for your support. We hope you understand why we are turning to you to ask for help to save this project and to ensure that all our efforts do not come to nothing? 

Anything that you could potentially offer would be an enormous help towards us bridging the shortfall and saving the project.

Of course, if you would like to speak with us directly, to understand the seriousness of our situation, then we would be delighted to chat with you.

 Listen To Our Community Explain How Important This Is

We also attach a short video which shows the kind of commitment our community has shown, and the effort that has gone into this. I think I can say the people speak for themselves, in terms of how important this is to our community.

This project successfully funded on 15th September 2021