Category: News

During the February half term we finally completed some of our improvements at the Village Hall. During a busy week we had painters, heating engineers and insulation installers working alongside each other to get the work completed in the time allotted so as to cause as little disruption to our groups as possible.

Hopefully some of you will have noticed the improvements but here is what we achieved:

• New gas boiler installed
• Replacement of some old radiators with new double radiators
• Additional radiators installed
• Thermostatic valves installed on radiators
• To allow better control of the heating in the large hall it was placed on a separate zone
• Installation of insulation in the loft space and jackets on water tanks in loft
• Painting the toilets, corridor, kitchen and foyer area

All of this work could not have been accomplished without the grants awarded to us from:

• WREN – WREN is a not for profit business that awards grants to community projects from funds donated by FCC Environment to the Landfill Communities Fund.
• REV ACTIVE through Breckland District Council
• Mundford Parish Council

We would like to thank them for their donations to enable us to make our hall a more comfortable and enjoyable place to meet and socialise.

We are currently looking to continue the improvements to the Village Hall through grants and donations. When applying for grants we need to show there is a need for the work we are planning and that we have the support of our users and villagers. In order to show this support we have produced a questionnaire, which we are asking our hirers and supporters to complete. There are copies of the questionnaire available in the hall and below. Once completed, please drop it in the comments box in the hall or hand to a Committee member.

Village Hall Improvements Questionnaire

Mundford Village Hall and its facilities were built over 25 years ago. Over the past few years we have been updating our facilities to ensure our hall is well cared for and to keep the facility well used by our rural community. Our project to update the flooring in the building comprised of:

• Replace the flooring in the female, male and disabled toilets.
• Replace the flooring in the female and male changing rooms.
• Replace the flooring in the corridor linking the above facilities to the hall.
• Replace the flooring in the kitchen with its two store rooms.
• Replace the flooring in the bar area.
• Strip and reseal the wooden floor in the large hall.

The flooring in all the above areas except the large hall had been in the hall since it was built over 25 years ago. These needed to be upgraded to bring the facilities up to date and safe.

The floor in the changing rooms needed to be replaced with up to date non-slip covering that would withstand football boots and be safe after the showers have been used by village hall users.

The toilets, corridor, kitchen and bar area floors also needed to be updated as odd tiles had been replaced over the years and we wished to refurbish the areas to bring them up to date. We had updated the toilets and sinks in recent years and the floors were the last part of the project.

In our village hall we have two halls, one small and one large with a sports floor that is used for badminton and indoor carpet bowls as well as social functions and by other clubs on a regular basis. This floor required stripping and resealing to keep it in good order for the clubs who use the hall regularly.

The total cost of these projects was:

• Large Hall Floor – £1,850
• Changing rooms, toilets, kitchen, corridor and bar – £6,063

These projects would not have been possible without the generous grants received from:

• Awards for All – £6,203
• Mundford Parish Council -£300
• Breckland Lodge – £250

Mundford Recreation Ground and Village Hall Trust contributed the remainder of the funds required – £1,160.

Our project was to replace the external doors and windows throughout the building. The old windows and doors were wooden and had been in the building for nearly 25 years. They were all beginning to rot and some were almost completely rotten, they were beyond repair and needed replacing. Other advantages of installing new UPVC windows included increased security and help to lower heat loss from the building. We wanted to continue to provide a facility that makes a difference to the residents of our village and surrounding villages and we believe they deserve a facility to be proud of.
We replaced 41 windows and 14 external doors with UPVC in brown wood grain effect to be in keeping with the ones they are replaced. They were double glazed to improve the security and helping to prevent heat loss from the building.

The total cost of the project was £26,800. This project would not have been possible without the generous donations and grants from:

• Mundford Parish Council – £4,000
• Norfolk County Council Capital Grant Aid Scheme – £8,930
• WREN (Waste Recycling Environmental) – £12,000

Mundford Recreation Ground and Village Hall Trust contributed the remainder of the funds required – £1,870.

Now we all know that August is not the best time to sow grass seed, but thanks to the wonderfully typical British summer of 2008, Mundford is proud to announce its new play area is open with not just its great new equipment, but also fresh new grass surfacing and not the bare dry soil we first feared. It all began back in 2006. The Mundford Recreation Ground and Village Hall Trust own the play area in the rural village of Mundford. It decided that our old equipment, some of which was over 40 years old, was in desperate need of replacement. We wanted to install a new and exciting play area with equipment that would provide a safe area to encourage outdoor play, for tots to teens of all abilities. We wanted to include picnic benches to encourage children and families to come together, socialise, enjoy a picnic and generally have fun. We wanted to make a difference to the lives of the children in our village and the smaller surrounding villages and we believed our children deserved a play area to be proud of.

We held an open morning to ask the opinions of the residents, especially the children, what they liked or disliked about 3 designs. This was the first fund raising event of many to obtain funds and grants towards our final total of over £57,000.

After the long and consuming process of obtaining grants, finally we had raised enough install the new equipment. Luckily we had some great parent volunteers who helped to save over £2400 by clearing and levelling the site ready for the installation. This also meant we sold the old equipment for scrap and added more money to our funds. Without the support of the following we would not have been able to complete this project to the scale it is today: Norfolk Playing Field Association, WREN (Waste Recycling Environmental), Breckland District Council, Mundford Parish Council, Tesco Community Award Scheme, Garfield Weston Foundation, Norfolk Rural Community Council, RAF Lakenheath, OCSC Philanthropic Committee, Mundford Play Area Committee, Mundford Mother and Toddler Group, Mundford Playgroup, Mundford Primary School, Mundford Post Office, Mundford Cricket Club, The Crown Hotel, Breckland Lodge N.8707, Mundford Connect village magazine along with private donations from village residents, parents and businesses.

Our project was to resurface the gravelled car park and install new ramp access from the car park to the hall entrance. The old car park was uneven, so we tarmaced it and improved the drainage. When we had a lot of rain, it flooded outside the hall and at the bottom of the steps. We installed a new ramp access from our car park, made of concrete, with handrails to ease access to the hall. The old ramp was too steep and no longer met the legal requirements for ramp access. Our aim was to provide facilities of a high standard to keep the hall a safe and well used amenity.

The total cost of the project was £19,705.

This project was achieved with the following generous grants and donations:

• Mundford Parish Council – £3,500
• Breckland District Council – £500
• Awards for All – £8,600
• Norfolk County Council Capital Grant Aid Scheme – £780

Mundford Recreation Ground and Village Hall Trust contributed the remainder of the funds required – £6,325.