You can give a social life back to our community, who have lost their pub and shop, by making the Village Hall kitchen fit for the future.
by Eyke Hall Improvement Team in Eyke, England, United Kingdom
£5,000 would allow us to match the funding amount, and update the existing kitchen and bar area.
A survey was recently carried out on our hall and gave us details of improvements and refurbishments to update the whole hall (Roofing Insulation, New Heating, Toilet refurbishments etc).
The total for these works came to £225,300 and we hope in time to be able to reach that goal with yours and others support.
1st place in the Calor Rural Community Fund - £5,000 Category
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Our Hall - in desperate need of modernisation.
Our Village Hall is old and dated. It was built on a tight budget by our villagers just after WWII and has been regularly in use over the years since then. It is regularly used by Clubs, the School and the Church for gatherings of every kind, and has been hired for parties and events by people from Eyke and the surrounding villages.
Regularly held events include:
Harvest and Spring Suppers
Christmas & New Year's Eve parties
Parties for the elderly
Jumble Sales, and other Fundraising Sales
Exercise Clubs
Children's Parties
School Events and gatherings
Quiz Nights and other Entertainment nights
Church Events
Local Council Meetings and Election Polling Station
The problem with the kitchen
The kitchen gets very damp and steamy. The fittings all need updating. We would like to add a small bar area and intend to apply for a licence to provide drinks at some of our events. If we did this, it would replace much of the social value which has been lost due to the closure of the Pub and Shop.
Local community working towards the project
There have been very positive community meetings to discuss upgrading several areas of the Village Hall. It will take us some time to get there but starting with the kitchen will have the biggest impact.
A Kitchen area refurbishment would allow us to improve our events and fundraising as food preparation could then be carried out on site. It would enable it to become legally compliant to prepare and serve food for Village events. It would be the foundation block to allow us to make greater improvements to the Hall in due course.
Some fundraising (Quizzes, draws, raffles and parties) has already added small amounts towards the Village Hall Fund and further events are planned to be held. To be able to refit the kitchen as soon as possible would be a good starting point to help bring the Hall up to an acceptable standard and provide a refreshing boost to our community at this difficult time.
Fundraising has begun, but our largest event for the Village Hall, the yearly Village Fete, is unlikely to take place due to COVID-19 and the threat it poses to our elderly community. If we carry out the kitchen work it would allow us to hold our social events safely in the knowledge that our surroundings were fit for purpose.
Whole Village benefit
Our Village has a small population of about 360 people. Many are key workers, and farming is an important part of Village life. Many others are elderly, who greatly need the chance to get out and meet people in the local community. The upgraded Hall would be used for a much greater range of activities to the benefit of all.
Our Elephant and Castle pub's fantastic landlord and landlady sadly died within three weeks of each other in 2017. The new owners show no sign of intending to reopen.
The Shop closed at Christmas and was not sold on. Our closest shop is now over a mile away.
Benefits for the Eyke Farming Community by upgrading our Hall
We were a small, thriving rural village with a School, Church, Shop and Pub, but have now lost the Pub and Shop over the last 3 years, leaving few places for locals to meet.
We need to update our old Village Hall to provide a social hub. The kitchen is most in need of work.
The Costs
The work needed in the kitchen area was recently assessed and a quote of £9,200 for the kitchen and £1,900 for the bar area was received. More quotes will be obtained and we are optimistic of receiving one for £10,000 or less.
We will be continuing our fundraising after the kitchen project to allow us to improve the other areas of the Hall
This project offers rewards in return for your donation.