We were thrilled to see so many households represented at the Village Hall meeting on the 28th January; thank you for your time and for volunteering your labour and skills to help the project.
We have already called on some of those skills to analyse the various health and safety steps that must be taken before the hall can reopen. We are grateful to two members of the village, who work in construction management and compliance, for their generous offer of support and technical assistance in the project management and have already held on-site meetings with them. Since the meeting on the 28th, significant progress has been made in the following areas:
- The geological report has identified some areas of remedial work necessary to provide a safe environment for all, a plan has been drawn up and the costs of this work are being calculated. It is hoped that with expert planning, industry contacts and our volunteer workforce, this work can be done as cost-effectively as possible. To help fund it, we will be launching a ‘buy-a-brick’ campaign in the very near future. We await confirmation of availability of some materials, but work will be able to begin relatively soon.
- In the meantime, work has been going on inside the hall to gauge the level of Health and Safety assessments required to open. Fire safety, water safety, drainage and electrical safety are all necessary when a building has been dormant for this long; the first of these took place on 7th February and it is hoped that remainder can take place before the end of February. Any necessary work to comply with regulations can then be carried out promptly.
- An amazing 3d scan of the building has been undertaken (free of charge), which we can use to be the basis of discussions with contractors, saving time with the quotation process.
- The legal paperwork to confirm the new trustees and to make the necessary financial and administrative changes is underway and our Charity Commission submission is imminent.
A point of contact for the trustees was understandably requested and we are pleased to say that we can now be contacted on the following email address: ackletonvillagehalltrustees@hotmail.com
We will endeavour to answer your messages as soon as possible, but please bear in mind that we are volunteers too!
Updates will be posted regularly on the Village Hall Facebook page, the Whatsapp group, Ackleton HQ, and on the noticeboards in the village and at the hall.
Finally, if anyone who wasn’t able to attend the public meeting would like to volunteer their time, skills or resources, please email us at the above address with name, contact details and an idea of how you would like to help and we will be in touch.
Thank you
The Trustees