Summing up our March Community Buildings Event
Tirril & Sockbridge Village Hall
20th March 2022
ACT’s latest Community Buildings Event on Saturday 19 March welcomed guest presentation from Simon Brown from Tirril & Sockbridge Village Hall, who shared their experience of insulating the hall and installing a new far-infrared remote-controlled heating system.
Since 1914 the hall has been providing a much-loved meeting place for the community but, like many older buildings, heating was a problem. On cold days, it would be cold when hirers arrived and sometimes still cold when they left! The committee took on the challenge of insulating the solid stone constructed hall and replacing the inefficient 40-year-old coin operated electric bar heaters, with new far-infrared heaters and a wireless operating system using WiFi. Read more about the project in our Case Study.
Following a reminder about improving energy efficiency of community buildings, we were pleased to also be joined by Helen Attewell, Cumbria Sustainability Network Coordinator at Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS), who provided information about community action on climate change, and how village halls can help. For more information, support and advice on this please contact Helen at helen.attewell@cafs.org.uk.
Hellen Aitken, ACT Development Officer and Lead Village Halls Advisor, discussed what hall committees can do to reduce the risk of damage and non-payment by hall hirers, highlighting the vital role of always using a written hire agreement and standard conditions of hire, and providing practical measures to reduce the risk and better prepare the hall committee to respond if problems do arise. Are you using the latest ACRE model hire agreement and conditions of hire for your hall? If not, get in touch to see how we can help here at ACT.
At a time when many communities are thinking how they can help provide support for Ukrainian refugees, Hellen shared the ACRE briefing about what village halls could do. The briefing highlights the important role halls play at the centre of their communities, providing a safe space to bring everyone together. Village halls are well placed to welcome and support Ukrainian refugees that are being hosted in the local community and this role fulfils the charitable purposes of hall charities. The briefing also provides practical pointers for hall committees and links for further information.
The event concluded with details of new and updated ACRE village hall information sheets; latest Covid-19 guidance for halls now restrictions have been lifted; discussion about fuel poverty and how village halls may be able to help; and a reminder of the free Cumbria Community Buildings Directory and to make sure all halls are listed!
ACT Community Buildings Events are free for anyone involved in running a village hall or other community building in Cumbria. Contact us at info@cumbriaaction.org.uk or check our News and Events page.
Save the Date:
Our next Community Buildings Event will be 10am – 12noon on Saturday 14 May. Featuring an online Q&A session with Utility Aid – the UK’s leading energy broker with the charity and not-for-profit sector. Click here for more details.