Dear Parishioners,

Bolney Parish Council, earlier this year, voted to give £150,000 towards the New Village Hall Project as a vital part of the overall funding. This £150,000 would be paid by taking out a PUBLIC WORKS LOAN funded through a small addition to your Council Tax Bill.

This decision reaffirmed the support a different group of Bolney Parish Councillors gave in 2007. We did so because, after examining the options, we felt that to do so would be in the best interests of the community we love.

Unfortunately, part of the funding has not materialised and the New Village Hall Project has approached the Parish Council for an additional £150,000 to cover the shortfall so the project can go ahead. That is a PUBLIC WORKS LOAN of £300,000.

The overall amount may sound a little scary but the addition to the Council Tax will not be as much as you might think and there has never been a better time to borrow. The cost will be between approximately £16 and £48 per year per household at today's rate depending on you Council Tax Banding.

Never the less, Bolney Parish Council is there to serve you. The reasons we supported the loan earlier this year have not changed and we are minded to continue to support the project. However, it is your money and we are consulting with you to give us your view. We understand what is at stake, do you?

There are two meetings being held at the Rawson Hall by the New Village Hall Project Team to help to explain what the issues are with the existing arrangement and how the New Village Hall will deal a number of additional problems that are very real today, to do with community life and support, that, without the new hall, we have no solution for. These meetings will be on Tuesday 1st November at 2pm and Wednesday 2nd November at 8pm.

Many people believe that all that is intended is that the existing hall and all its existing services and facilities are being lifted from one place to another and this simply is not true. Please go to one of the meetings and find out for yourself what is really being proposed.

We are asking you, in light of the information you will be supplied with, to let us know your considered view by either e-mailing, writing or calling the Parish Clerk with a clear 'Yes' or 'No' in favour of the Parish Council agreeing the £300,000 Public Works Loan. This is not a vote, it is a consultation. For your view to be included you must leave your name and address to show you qualify to be counted. Your view will remain confidential and will only be used by the Parish Council to help gauge the opinion of the community. The Parish Council will only act in the best interest of the community as a whole as it sees it.

We will assume that, if you do not let us know your view, you are happy to go along with the Council's decision.

Please do respond* this is your chance to have a say and influence what happens in your community. *All responses must be in by Thursday the 10th November and please keep them short and to the point: 'yes' or 'no' to the Public Works Loan and remember to give your name and address.

E-mail bolneypc@hotmail.co.uk
or write The Clerk, Bolney Parish Council, 20 The Oaks, Burgess Hill, West Sussex RH15 9XP
or call 01444 230711 during working hours and speak direct to the Clerk or leave the message.


Three Salient Points about the Bolney Village Hall Options and the Proposed £300,000 Public Works Loan (PWL)

(1) The new proposed hall (planning permission already approved) is not just a replacement for the existing Rawson facilities. In addition it includes ∑ Replacing the existing toilet facilities on Batchelors field with new ones (including disabled toilets) within the new hall, but accessible from outside the hall making them Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) compliant. ∑ Replacing the existing pavilion with new and more modern changing facilities within the new hall. ∑ Provision of space for a permanent Village cafÈ and shop within the new hall ∑ Provision of car parking for hall users. ∑ An enlarged hall that can be used for some further sports facilities if required.

(2) Many parishioners have suggested the existing Rawson should be maintained and refurbished. For possible continued use the existing Hall requires: ∑ A new roof capable of being insulated - which in turn will require strengthening of the walls to accommodate additional weight. ∑ Other insulation work (replacement windows etc). ∑ Structural repairs to internal load bearing wall - currently a fire risk. ∑ New toilet facilities to meet modern hygiene standards and DDA compliance ∑ New kitchen facilities to meet Health and Safety requirements. ∑ New hall heating arrangements.

These refurbishments are estimated to cost approx £350,000 to £400,000
If these improvements are not carried out the existing hall will fall into disrepair and be unusable within a few years.

(3) Mid Sussex District Council are required to make the pavilion building DDA compliant with additional alterations to satisfy the football association. These changes would reduce the amount of space available in the main area of the building as the current kitchen area would have to be converted into a disabled toilet. The existing toilets will be demolished. They are only still there now as the parish council pays to maintain them. The reduction in space and loss of the kitchen would make it difficult, if not impossible to run a cafÈ. This work has currently been postponed due to the planning permission for the new village hall but if the village hall does not proceed then it will be done. To replace both the toilet facilities and pavilion with a modern equivalent has not been fully costed but it is estimated to be in the region of £100,000.

Bolney could, therefore, be liable for a £500,000 PWL in the future in order to continue to maintain the current level of facilities if the proposed option for the new hall is not seriously considered.

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©opyright Bolney Parish Council 2011

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