Mautby Parish Council is inviting all residents to give their views on the future of Runham Village Hall. 

The hall, built in 1889, was the former village school up until the late 60’s, is part of the village’s history, and is one of the few community amenities we have in the parish.

 

The building has suffered some water ingress around both gables which has damaged part of the original internal roof and ceiling timbers and the ceiling covering, meaning that repairs to these areas are now required to enable the hall’s continued use, and for these reasons it is presently closed.  The Parish Council, which owns the hall, is working with local builders to understand the extent and cost of repairs required and at the same time make some improvements to bring the hall up to more modern standards to make it better for users. The potential cost of this repair and improvement work is currently envisaged to be around £50,000 (in the process of being confirmed).  Toward that sum the Village Hall Committee, who run events from the hall, will contribute £22,000 of Covid relief grant previously received, (some of which has already been spent on internal improvements including the toilets).

 

Both the Parish Council and Village Hall Committee are keen to carry out the required repairs and improvements to get the hall back into use, but to do so will require a loan (at a preferential rate through HM Treasury) for the balance of funds required, which would be repaid by an increase in council tax for residents over future years.

 

How this could affect residents

A small proportion of our Council Tax (called the parish precept) is collected annually on behalf of the parish to pay for local community services and spaces, which would need to increase to fund the work and the loan. 

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In 2022/23 the Mautby Parish Council precept amount was £28.97 per household and to fund a loan of, for example, £35,000 over 10 years, this amount per household would rise for a “Band D” property by around £29.10 annually (an extra £2.91 monthly over 10 months)2. Note that the exact loan amount is yet to be confirmed.

 (In comparison, the average precept across England in 21/22 was £71.861 and our neighbouring village, Stokesby with Herringby, was £44.73).

 

The  Parish Council needs to know that these proposals have the support of the parish, and would ask and encourage everyone to complete the survey:

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RUNHAM VILLAGE HALL SURVEY

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Any possible contributions from local residents and businesses of services, materials or funds would also be particularly welcomed,

 

A printable version of the survey can be downloaded from here:  Runham Village Hall Survey Download

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So please complete this survey by completing the online version above

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Or writing your responses and posting or delivering the completed form to:

• Mautby Parish Council c/o Jubilee Farm, Fleggburgh Road, Rollesby NR29 5HH, or

• Runham Village Hall Committee c/o Middle Black Door Cottage, The Street, Runham NR29 3AH

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Or email a copy of the form to mautbyparishcouncil@gmail.com