In August the parish council consulted Piddinghoe households about covering the funding shortfall for the refurbishment of the village hall from the council tax precept. We concluded that there was insufficient support for that proposal and decided not to take it any further.
However it was evident from the consultation exercise that there is strong support for the project to improve the village hall; it has been in the planning for several years and there is clear appreciation that those volunteers involved have made great strides in bringing the project so near to fruition.
It was heartening therefore that so many respondents to the consultation declared their willingness to help bridge the shortfall through a voluntary one-off donation or by means of a regular standing order.
Narrowing the funding gap
You will recall that the grant of £38,757 offered by the Platinum Jubilee Fund is conditional on the project being fully funded by 31 October and capable of being completed by the end of March 2025. So the Village Hall trustees have carefully reviewed the scheme to see what elements can be cut or postponed while retaining its key benefits. As a result they have managed to bring the original build cost down from some £200k to an estimated £158k. As long as the Platinum Jubilee Fund deadlines can be met, the funding gap is now down to £31,755.
The upshot is that there are just three weeks and three days now to raise £31,755. Further grant applications have been submitted, and the parish council will be meeting on 30 October to decide if the remaining £3,926 of Community Infrastructure Fund (CIL) money it is holding should be used.
If the funding target can’t be met and the Platinum Jubilee Fund grant is lost, while the VHMC will be not quite back to square one, it will be facing a longer timescale, probably needing to drastically scale back to more of a repair and maintenance project.
In either scenario, your help remains critical. It’s the community as a whole that benefits from the village hall. Whether you use it regularly, or ever, a facility like this – a place for us to come together, to meet, socialise, exercise, vote, hold events, have fun together – is an important part of the community’s life-support. It doesn’t need to be a Rolls Royce facility, but it ought to be decent, accessible, safe and well-maintained, a nice place to be.
Champions and Patrons
So during October we are inviting parishioners to contribute financially to the village hall project. There are two ways of supporting the Piddinghoe Village Hall charity.
The first is to become a Village Hall Champion by donating whatever you can either directly to the Village Hall bank account (details below) or through their crowdfunding website – https://gofund.me/031430ca
Or if you are able to do more please consider becoming a Village Hall Patron using this form to make by a binding pledge to contribute a lump sum of £500 or more before the end of 2024. Two people have pledged £500 each already: the goal is at least 20 patrons.
Refreshingly, neither method of financial support attracts any privileges beyond the satisfaction that you are contributing to your local Piddinghoe community. No priority booking or mates rates! You may even remain anonymous – although the charity would like to augment all donations and pledges by claiming Gift Aid from the HMRC, for which the details required from donors will in any case remain confidential.
We are nearly there! The best tribute we can pay all those who over the years have selflessly given time, expertise and energy to this project is to step up now. Let’s get it over the line!
Thank you.
Paul Bevan, Chair
Piddinghoe Parish Council
Piddinghoe Village Hall: sort code 40-52-40, a/c 00007970
Crowdfunder website: https://gofund.me/031430ca
