Meeting to decide future of Shutford's village hall

A public meeting was held on February 4 to alleviate any concerns residents might have with their idea, which was to take out a public works loan to help towards the costs of replacing the 60-year-old facility over 25 years.

Roger Bancroft, chairman of the village hall committee, said the meeting went well and the majority of those present voted in favour of their public works loan proposal, which will now be spread over 50 years.

He said: “We had a very good turnout and a few parish councillors turned up too. There were concerns about the village hall not being viable enough but from the experience of other villages that is not the case.

“The parish council turned down our original proposal over 25 years so we will be going back to them with the same proposal but over a longer period. It reduces the precept down by a third so will reduce the financial impact. When we told those at the meeting about what we were proposing, we found the majority were in favour.”

The village hall in Shutford was built back in the 1950s and as the years have gone by the building has become outdated .

Members of the committee have said that they have already gathered lots of support from those living in and around the village who want to help towards replacing the facility with a brand new building.

They currently have more than £100,000 in pledges from benefactors and along with the public works loan, the amount will more than help pay for construction costs.

The Public Works Loan Board is a statutory body of the UK government that provides loans to public bodies from the National Loans Board.