Bishopthorpe Parish Council has been awarded a grant of £245,000 to extend and upgrade the facilities in the Village Hall by the Big Lottery Fund.
The hall will close after Easter and major works will start to to undertake the following:
• Build a small extension on the front;
• Install a lift, allowing disabled and pushchair access to all parts of the hall;
• Improve the existing kitchen and install a new kitchen upstairs;
• Build additional office space for the village archive;
• Enlarge the entrance hall creating an improved welcome area and storage area.
We expect the work to be undertaken by the following local companies:
David Chapman Associates
Martin Design Assocaites
H Watson - Builders
Dennis King - Electrician
BM Plumbing - Heating and Plumbing
The Parish Council first started looking into improving the Village Hall back in 2004 when a proposal to improve the hall and promote wider use was presented to the Parish Council by Lisa Thornton (later Councillor).
During the intervening years we had protracted discussions with City of York Planning and Conservation Officers before planning permission was granted in May 2007.
We then received the necceary mountain of paperwork to complete from the Big Lottery Fund before submitting a provisional bid in the summer of 2007.
Further paperwork and documentation was followed by site visits from commercial and technical represetatives of the Big Lottery Fund in October 2008.
We received the favourable decision in February 2009 but due to a publicity embargo were not allowed to broadcast our success until 30 March 2009.
As you can see this has been a long complicated exercise and I would like to thank Lisa Thornton for her drive and enthusiasm throughout the whole process. Along the way there have been numerous helpers and I would like to thank them all for their support but would specifically like to mention Cayley Godfrey, Shirley Burden, Keith Thornton, Tim Bruce and Liam Godfrey.
Stewart Harrison - Chairman Bishopthorpe Parish Council
Hi Ruth
Thanks for your interest and comments.
You are perfectly correct the Village Hall was/is St Andrews Reading Room - and still has a plaque on the front to say so! The Plaque will be taken down during the refurbishment and replaced above the new main entrance.
Just for your interest the hall is extensively used by local organisations e.g. Brownies, Badminton, Playgroup, Parish Council etc. and also used for "one-off" functions. But the major event of the year is the pantomine put on by the local drama group the Ebor Players. They play to packed houses for 6 performances just before Christmas entertaining somewhere in the region of 700 people!
Perhaps one day you will return and I can show you round the new hall and improvments to the village.
Keep watching this site and thanks again for your interest.
All the very best,
Stewart Harrison - Chairman, Bishopthorpe Parish Council.
I often read with great interest all the changes and goings-on in Bishopthorpe. I grew up in the village from 1938 through the end of 1958 and still have a soft spot for Bishopthorpe. I now reside in the U.S.
Didn't the Village Hall used to be the Reading Room on Main Street? or am I totally off-base with this? There used to be plays, and dances and Christmases put on by the Men's Association.
All the local committees have done a wonderful job with all the many improvements in the village. All the best in this new endeavor.
Sincerely,
Ruth
Congratulations to all concerned. I second all that Martin has said - and besides - it will be great when the archive moves out of my home and Ken and I get our spare bedroom back!
Great news for the village. Well done to all on the parish Council who have worked hard for this grant. Nice to have some good news for a change. Nice also to hear from Martin again!!
Ooops I have just noticed that my full article was not published - and I don’t know how to edit it - so I thought I better add a comment to include my final paragraphs:
Village Hall Users
I would like to thank all current users of the Village Hall for bearing with us during this period and hopefully they have all found new temporary homes during the construction period. (I know the 2nd Bishopthorpe Brownies have been relocated to the Sports Pavilion on Ferry Lane because my daughter Libby is one of the pack).
We specifically planned the construction phase during the summer term as several of our users have a break in July and August – so hopefully if all goes to plan they will all be able to move back into the newly modernised and extended Village Hall in September 2009.
Stewart Harrison – Chairman Bishopthorpe Parish Council
This is splendid news! I know how much effort goes into these applications all given from people's own time. The new facilities will do much to enhance what is on offer and to whom, and the space for the village archive will provide a much needed resource that will be used for years to come. Well done all!