The Village Halls Advice and Support Service is part of Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity's membership scheme. Managing a village hall or community centre demands a wide range of skills and information to meet the ever-changing requirements set by local authority and national legislation. The Village Hall Advisory Service offers advice and guidance on all aspects of management, maintenance and usage. Village Hall Committee Members can benefit from the following:
training events on a range of topics
written publications and information sheets on a
range of relevant topics
advice and information, either over the telephone or
by email
information about grants, lottery applications and
other funding sources
charity based queries
lobbying of local authorities and central government
Whether you are seeking to raise money for tables and chairs or for an extension, require a new constitution or need to clarify recent legislation affecting halls, the Village Halls Adviser at Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity can help you.
Village halls represent the largest network of community facilities in rural Britain, outside churches. Most village halls are registered charities managed by a local committee which represents user organisations and the public. Their purpose is to provide a community hall and meeting place for the benefit of local people.
A village hall provides an extremely important resource for the community it serves. Under one roof it provides for a wide range of educational, welfare, sports and leisure activities and, with the demise of Post Offices and Village shops, it is increasingly becoming the base for such services along with part-time doctors surgeries and clinics, thus fulfilling much the same role as community centres in urban areas.
The Every Action Counts programme has published 'Your community building counts: helping community buildings lead the way to a better future' in pdf format (2.78MB) on their website.
This includes an article about Biddenham Village Hall in North Beds and their successful paper recycling scheme that has been running for several years.
For further information
please contact Sue Norman either by email on suen@bedsrcc.org.uk or phone 01234
832614.
The Church Purchasing Scheme Ltd
CPS was set up over 20 years ago specifically to serve the church and the
community and they are committed to offering customers high quality supplies at
very competitive prices. Historically they supplied furnishings to churches but
their product range grew enabling them to supply village halls as well.
Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity.
Contact: info@bedsrcc.org.uk
Registered
charity no 1061538. A company limited by guarantee and registered in
England no 3327628.
