‘Vital’ Nottingham Parish Hall celebrates the volunteers keeping spaces open for Village Halls Week
Jane Murden, the Trowell Parish Hall manager said it's important to recognise Parish Halls
By Henry Green
A Nottinghamshire parish hall has been celebrating the work of volunteers who keep the ‘vital’ spaces open for the public.
Each year, a meeting is held in Nottinghamshire during Village Halls Week to show appreciation for volunteers and communities that support Parish and village halls.
A total of 66 representatives from 37 different village and community halls attended the event from across the county, which took place at the Trowell Parish Hall today (March 19).
Jane Murden, the Trowell Parish Hall manager, said: “Village halls are vital and it’s phenomenally important to have events like this and to learn from other peoples insights. We’ve actually went through refurbishment and then a flood and without hearing what other people have been through, I wouldn’t have been able to draw on that experience.
“The funding and the Broxtowe now has allowed people to have the access and resources to bring everybody together and learn from one another like we are here today,” Jane added.
Trowell Parish Hall hosts many different sports and community events supporting their constituents through their new community hub which is opening up for once a month.
The Broxtowe Say Now Project programme was funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Funding (UKSPF) from the UK Government, through a £16,000 grant from Broxtowe Borough Council, with aims of helping communities improve their facilities.
Jenny Kirkwood, who works at Royal Community Action Nottinghamshire, said: “By getting funding from the UKSPF we were able to work closely with the Broxtowe community groups to support them with whatever it was they needed support with.
“There’s volunteers up and down the country doing things within their communities and this week is a really good opportunity to recognise the work that the volunteers do in Nottinghamshire and across the country,” Jenny added.
The UKSPF was a main part of the previous Government’s Levelling Up agenda, with Broxtowe Council awarded more than £2.5 million from the Government. Funding from the council helps rural areas improve facilities.
Graham Spencer, the treasurer of neighbouring Awsworth Village Hall, said: “Village halls are the centre of the community and to get help from our county to make that happen is very important.
“During Covid we had a couple of years where people couldn’t visit village halls so to get funding now, to get the village hall back to what it should be and to improve it is brilliant really,” Graham added.
Initial funding, awarded to the council in 2022, runs out at the end of March before the council re-applies for more funds to support village halls in Nottingham.
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