PEOPLE in a dale village are rallying round to raise cash to repair and reopen their village hall.
Lands Village Hall, which also serves as a voting station, was due to be shut after a public meeting in January found there was no cash to make repairs and not enough people were using it to make it viable.
However, a general meeting last month saw a new group of trustees appointed who say they are determined to turn the centre’s fortunes around.
Evenwood Parish Council, which is responsible for Lands and neighbouring hamlets, has welcomed the news.
A website has been created as well as a crowdfunding page to help pay for repairs.
Glenn Reffin, chairman of the trustees, said Evenwood Parish Council, which had organised the public meeting in January had estimated the cost of repairs to the building at about £50,000, with re-wiring alone expected to cost £12,000.
Hall committee member David Dodd said: “We’ve received very competitive quotes that are nothing like the scary figures quoted at the public meeting.”
The hall, which was built in the 1870s, has served as chapel, men’s institute and reading room but has suffered from a decline in use in recent years.
Concerns from the parish council that it would be pointless to keep the hall open if no one uses it have also been refuted. Mr Reffin said: “That’s why we have spent some time developing a strategy and defining the one-off fundraising events and regular calendar fillers that the local residents might actually want.
“When this is tied in with real costs for renovation, a picture starts to emerge of how Lands Village Hall can become the heart of the local community once again and a place for people in the wider Teesdale area to visit.”
Cllr Alison Deakin, from Evenwood Parish Council, said: “The new committee has lots of ideas for events and fundraisers to put money back into the hall. We look forward to organising some of these when it is safe to do so after the Covid-19 lockdown.
“There is real excitement about getting something underway from the whole community, even residents who didn’t respond to the questionnaire in January have stepped up to volunteer. We hope the hall will be an inclusive centre of our village life.”
Mr Reffin added: “We have plans to encourage the whole community to get involved, from our older neighbours to the youngest members of our community. With the right choice of events we will make this a hub for our community.”
Parish council chairwoman Cllr Barbara Nicholson described the residents’ actions as “absolutely fantastic” .
She added: “With the new trustees in situ, it seems they have rallied an excellent team of tradespeople to help. I am sure they will succeed.
“I am so sorry if the trustees feel we as a parish council initially seemed to pour cold water on their ideas. Far from it, we were only expressing the reality of the task ahead.
“The figures we quoted were a realistic cost, based on the amount of work that needs to be done. However, the positivity from them shows they are more than ready to get things started.
“They will be following in the footsteps of John Armstrong, Tony Elliott any many more who worked tirelessly to keep the Lands Village Association up and running.
“Just to make one point clear – the parish council only attended the meeting in January in order to facilitate proceedings. Apart from our parish clerk organising the building’s insurance, we have no other input whatsoever at the village hall.”
People can support the village hall campaign by visiting justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lands-village-hall
