Payhembury Parish Hall

The Hall in Payhembury is a fantastic community asset which is available for all residents in the Parish. It’s origins are in the former ‘Memorial Hall’, built for the community on land generously donated by the Leach family. The old building came to the end of its life and so the land that it stood on was traded for the land and the build of the new Hall. The new Hall is a modern building built to last, and commissioned in 2008 – a challenging and fantastically well-managed project by the then Committee – Louise Granger, Alan Jones, Di Somers, Fred Worman, Sally & Alf Boom, Sandra Ford, Robin Stanes, Bill Garvey and Rob Holman.

The Hall has always been run by volunteers (Trustees of the Hall, which is a registered charity) on behalf, and for the benefit, of the Hall ‘members’… if you’re reading this you are almost certainly a ‘member’ as the Hall is there to be an asset, facility, and community hub for all the residents of the Parish. The Hall finances have always been managed prudently and sustainably, with no reliance on outside funding – a good strategy as there is rarely any available these days. The present Hall Committee (named below) are aiming to carry on the good work of the Committee that organised the building that we have today.

Relatively recently, the Hall was fitted with solar PV panels, giving renewable energy and a significant source of year-round income which benefits everyone in the community by helping keep hire costs low. We are looking into further investment into renewable and sustainable technologies to ensure that we are dependent on fossil fuels and their price variations as little as possible – this may soon include a rainwater harvesting system to cut down on water bills.

Most of all though, we want to increase usage of the Hall by people that live in (and outside) the Parish – for all ages and events that promote community spirit, participation or simply the wellbeing of individuals, families and groups. At the moment it is regularly used for Pilates classes, short mat bowls (Wednesday evening), and has facilities and court markings for badminton, along with table tennis table, bench seating, a bouncy castle, and a beautiful indoor canopy donated by Di and John Somers. The Hall is also used regularly by the school, youth and church groups, and annually for village events such as the Spring Bulb Show (of course), May Day, and the school Christmas event, and is occasionally used for weddings, parties (for children big and small), music events, and other gatherings for clubs and societies generally.

The Committee is embarking on a range of initiatives to get more people involved using this fantastic facility to both improve the Hall, and encourage wider participation and use, bringing the community together more often. We have made a start by repainting the inside of the building last year and, more recently, replacing the old Hall sign – we decided to go with ‘Village Hall’ as the Committee unanimously agreed that the word ‘village’ sounded more welcoming and friendly than ‘Parish’ – of course, the Hall remains a facility for everyone in the Parish. Later this year our action plan includes:
improving the look of the interior small ‘welcome’ room, and the outside/front of the building;

• the fitting of phone line and broadband (aimed at occasional business use and emergencies, rather than standing around looking at phone screens)

• launching a Hall website (June) and marketing and event information, to help people know what is going on, not just in the Hall, but also elsewhere in the village and the region

• bringing more music, and maybe the cinema and arts events (and anything else interesting) into the village

The rationale for the above is to get more use and participation while increasing the income of the Hall, towards continuous improvement and assured sustainability. We are looking for people with ideas to work with the Committee, especially young people, or any groups who would like to see more going on for them or others. For this we will need more involvement, ideas, energy, and maybe even financial donations or pledges, from people who want to see this great facility be even better. Please get in touch if you want to be part of it and make our Hall more action-packed and more beautiful !

Kevin
Chair, Village Hall Committee
07980 709139

Parish Hall Committee Members:

To view the charges for hiring the hall please click Parish Hall Hire Charges.

Bookings through Hazel Pike on 01404 841465 or Hazepike18@gmail.com

To view Minutes of the meetings please click the relevant link below:

Parish Hall Committee Meeting Minutes – 03 2018

Parish Hall Committee Meeting Minutes – 01 2018