Community halls for rural people
Village halls and other community buildings are the focus for people who live in rural communities. Halls are varied: rural community centres, Women’s Institutes, British Legion halls, memorial halls, halls belonging to churches and chapels, including innovative use of a separate part of the church building itself for community activities. In the past few years, many are no longer just a place to meet for social occasions such as parties, wedding receptions, guides and scouts clubs but have blossomed into providing a venue for an impressive range of other activities such as local health facilities, farmers' markets, lunch club for older people and IT facilities. These are the village halls of the future.
This resulted from the energy and commitment of village hall committees, and many projects have stemmed from involving the community, tapping into their talents, time and skills. As resources become more targeted, and in some cases, tighter, funders are increasingly looking for good plans, community consultation and an inclusive approach to community building improvements.
Community
Halls for Rural People has been set up in partnership with Action with
Communities in Rural England (ACRE), to act as a one stop shop to help
these developments happen. The aim is to raise awareness to available
funding and advice sources for village halls and other community buildings
and to provide useful contacts. ACRE's
publications on funding and other village halls issues complements information
on this website.
Rural communities are capable of identifying their own needs and problems, but sometimes experience difficulty in knowing where to get help and advice from to address issues and problems related to rural community buildings.
Village
Hall Management Committees and those managing village hall projects in
their community need some help to sift through the huge volume of information
available to help them realise their community's plans. Village Hall Advisers
based in Rural Community Councils can assist with this.
Further information is available on ACRE's Rural Community Councils network.
These pages aim to meet this need. We would like to hear from you. If there is any information missing that you would like to see, or can supply, please let us know. If you would like to share the experiences of improving your hall with others, please let us know. If you would like us to add your website here, please let us have the details. Our mailbox is CommunityHallFeedback@defra.gsi.gov.uk
Please call the Defra Helpline on 08459 33 55 77 or email VillageHallHelpline@defra.gsi.gov.uk
if you can not access the webpages and we will arrange for a paper print
to be sent to you.
Page last modified:
4 September, 2007
Page published: