New Hall Project – Rowledge Village Hall

New Rowledge Village Hall

Why do we need a new Village Hall?

Rowledge has a thriving village hall community but, sadly, the much-loved 100-year-old building is becoming increasingly-dilapidated. It needs a completely new roof which isn’t possible because the existing timber structure is too lightweight to carry the load, even without insulation. Re-building on the existing constricted site would still leave us with the current major deficiencies: a kitchen that is too small for catered events; inadequate storage; very limited outdoor space; no on-site parking; no lobby with direct access to cloaks & toilets; no acoustic separation of the large and small halls. Crucially, where would existing users go for up to two years during construction work?

How is a new hall possible?

With no satisfactory way to repair or replace the existing hall, the Trustees feared they would not be able to keep it open much longer. We rely on local volunteers with no council support.

An excellent site then became available on Fullers Road, ideally located close to other village facilities. The site had previously been refused planning consent for a house. After public consultations, Waverley Borough Council supported consent for a community building. A planning application for a new hall was submitted and planning consent was granted in October 2022.

Following approval, the RVH Trustees were able to buy the site at an affordable price using existing resources.

New Design

Where is the new site and what will happen to the existing hall?

The new site is almost three times the size of the existing one and fronts onto Fullers Road, close to the Recreation Ground, Primary School and village clubs. It is surrounded by mature trees and has gardens at the front and rear, along with on-site parking for twenty-one cars, including three disabled spaces.

We recently obtained consent to build a single detached family house on the existing site. The plan is to pre-sell the old site to a developer or self-builder before starting work on the new hall, but only on the condition that we retain possession of the site until the new hall is complete. This will ensure continuity for the Rowledge Village Hall community.

What are the main advantages of building a new hall on this site?

Main Hall

Net-zero carbon target
Slightly-larger area – maximising flexibility and taking account of all existing and new users requirements
Flexible storage facilities for main users.
Stage that folds up into wall recess.
Direct access and view over protected terrace and garden.
Direct access to kitchen and servery.

Small Hall

Same size as existing Front Hall, with lofted laminated-oak-framed interior.
Veranda and terrace accessible from footpaths from Fullers Road
Sliding glass doors out to terrace and garden
Greatly-improved storage facilities.

Link Block

Draft lobby/fire escape with access to all areas
Foyer serving both halls -allowing both to be used for events at the same time with full acoustic separation
Toilets serving both halls.
Full kitchen with direct access to both halls and rear service area.

Public Consultations 2021- 2024

30^thAugust 2021 – Exhibition Tent at the Village Fayre;
16^th October – Exhibition and public slide show in the Village Hall
6^th November – Exhibition and public slide show in the Village Hall
Posting on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, the Rowledge Residents e-mail list.
A four-page colour A5 leaflet delivered to all Rowledge residents.
Private views of ongoing village hall exhibition on request over the next few weeks.
Further four-page colour A5 leaflet delivered to all Rowledge residents for Your Fund Surrey Application

We estimate more than 90% of responses received were positive, willing us to move fast on this project.

Planning Application

A Planning Application was submitted to Waverley Borough Council for the new Village Hall on 14th March 2022. It was open for comments until 11th April 2022, and we encouraged everyone, whether for or against, to share their views with WBC.

There were 150 letters in support and 47 against.

The Planning Case Number is WA/2022/00955, or you can click the button below for more information.

Planning Consent was granted on 27th October 2022 by the Western Planning Committee.