£200,000 plans for Eggleston Village Hall

From almost closing two years ago, plans are being put forward for a £200,000 upgrade for Eggleston Village Hall.

An emergency meeting was called in 2024 when long serving chairman and treasurer Dave Smith died, leaving only three people on the committee.

There had also been no committee meetings for two years after the Covid pandemic.

However, a host of people stepped forward to save the facility.

Now plans are being put in place to secure its future for generations to come.

Chairman David Hutchinson said the venue had not had any major improvements for the past three decades.

He added: “We are doing it in phases. The first bit is the roof, and while the roof is off, hopefully we will get funding for solar panels.

“There are some tiles missing. We will probably get somebody to do a temporary repair on it until we have got funding raised.”

The aim is to also have battery power storage facilities to make the venue a “warm space” should the village lose its electricity, as happened during Storm Arwen in 2021.

Suzanne Herbert from the committee said: “It was dreadful in parts of the village.

“Some parts were better than others.

“We got electric after three or four days, but the others said it was about a week.

“We had no assistance from anybody.”

David added that the plan is also to have generator connections in case of a prolonged power outage.

Probably the most expensive part of the plan is to make the hall more accessible by putting it all at the same level.

At present, people have to climb several steps to reach the kitchen and other areas.

The kitchen and toilets also need attention.

Suzanne added: “I have been on the committee for 30 years and the kitchen was refurbished when I first started.

“It has done its job, but it definitely needs a rethink in terms of what it has to offer.

“Also, one of the things we would like to do is have a luncheon club for older people, but at the moment there isn’t sufficient facility.

“It is tiny. The toilets are just past their sell-by date.”

By coincidence, Durham Community Action contacted David just as the committee started considering improving the facility.

He said: “The new toilet facility will be made accessible to disabled people.”

Various funding applications have been made, with the Bernard Sunley Foundation confirming last week that it will give £5,000.

A further £3,000 has been pledged by Cllr Richard Bell from his neighbourhood budget.

Eggleston Carnival committee has also confirmed it will make a contribution.