NEW ROWLEDGE VILLAGE HALL
Your Fund Surrey - Have Your Say!
We are seeking a grant of £800,000 from ‘Your Fund Surrey’. If you would like to see this project happen, please show your support by visiting the Your Fund Surrey – Have Your Say – Project Proposal page.
We need as many people as possible to offer their Support. It will only take a minute!
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 were losing hope of being able to keep the hall open much longer. We rely on just ten local volunteers, with no Council support.
It is therefore very fortuitous that an excellent site has become available on Fullers Road – a perfect size and location close to other village facilities. The site has been refused planning consent for a house, but we believe that it could be acceptable for a Community Building.
The RVH Trustees have agreed an Option deal with the site owners at an affordable price, subject to planning. Our cash reserves and the existing site value amount to over two-thirds of the overall funds required, so the Trustees have decided to proceed with a planning application.
We still have to persuade the Planners and Councillors to allow a new Community Building on this site, so your views matter. Please send comments, for or against, to the e-mail or postal addresses on the back page.
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 and fronts onto Fullers Road – close to the Recreation Ground, Primary School and village clubs. It is surrounded by mature trees and has attractive gardens to the front and rear, with on-site parking for twenty-one cars (including three disabled spaces). The existing hall will be sold as housing development land for between two and four houses, but will remain in use during construction of the new hall.
What are the main advantages of building a new hall on this site?
Main Hall
- Net-zero carbon target
- Larger Area – regulation plan size for Badminton.
- Increased and 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
- Greatly-improved storage facilities
Link Block
- Draft lobby/fire escape with access to all areas, including upstairs meeting room
- Foyer serving both halls – could double as a bar for community fund-raising events.
- Toilets serving both halls.
- Full kitchen with direct access to both halls and rear service area.
Public Consultations 2021
There have been three public pre-application events over the past few months:
- 30th August 2021 – Exhibition Tent at the Village Fayre;
- 16th October – Exhibition and public slide show in the Village Hall
- 6th 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.
We estimate more than 87% of responses received have been positive, willing us to move fast on this project.
Press the red button below to view the most recent slide show.
Press the back arrow in the top left of your screen to return to the web-site
Frequently-Asked Questions
Press the red button below to view the most frequently-asked questions during the consultation period.
Planning Application
A Planning Application was made to Waverley Borough Council for the new Village Hall on 14th March 2022. It was open for comments until 11th April 2022. We encouraged everyone, for or against, to express their views to WBC.
There were 150 letters in support and 47 against.
The Planning Case Number is: WA/2022/00955 or click on the button below:
Planning Consent was granted on 17th August 2022 by the Western Planning Committee.