Village Halls - A Critical Asset

The Village Hall or Community Centre is arguably the most valuable asset of any community. A properly maintained building of adequate size, which is well kept and well managed can provide facilities for social, educational and recreational activities for all ages.

   Our Community Facilities twitter feed is: Northants ACRE@CommunityHalls

 


How can we protect the future of village halls?

This article by Richard Hollingum, in the Nene Quirer, looks at the problems and benefits of a hall for the whole village to use. To read the article click here.


4th National Village Halls Survery

A new survey* by ACRE revealed that England's 8,900 village halls rely on more than 12 million hours of volunteering each year. 

The report shows that volunteers who run classes and events put in 2.5 million hours annually. That's on top the estimated 9.6 million hours clocked up by management committees.

But - more than half of the halls who responded said they were struggling to find new recruits to help manage the buildings - with people protesting that they were too busy, too old or simply not interested. 

Read the summary of the survey or download the full briefing here
*ACRE undertook a survey of village halls across England. The survey returned 1,300 responses, (13%) that were used to derive the statistics for this report. 

So getting the right advice and support to help run the facility is vital. 

Make sure your village becomes a Community Buildings Advisory Service member.

Read our Community Facilities Adviser's article about the 4th National Village Halls Survey.


Village Halls Week 2021

Listen to Frances Harris, Community Facilities Advisor, speaking on BBC Radio about the value of village halls to their community. Starts at 1hr 25 mins.

Annabel Amos - 25/01/2021 - BBC Sounds