Hall & Playing Field Improvement Project

The Project completed in the Spring of 2021 with the exception of the Multi-Use Games area.

There are three main strands to the project:

- to extend and refurbish the hall (completed)

- to enhance and extend the range of play equipment (completed)

- to install a Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) (tbd)

Newsletter - March 2018 

Newsletter - August 2016

NEW VILLAGE HALL FOR RIDGEWELL

Despite the global pandemic, Ridgewell Village Hall’s extension and refurbishment has been completed.  Originally scheduled to be finished in the Autumn 2020, the hall was handed back to the Village Hall Management Committee by the Hall Improvement Project team on 24 April 2021.                                                                                             

Whilst retaining the original structure of the main hall built in the 1950s to preserve its heritage, the new hall bears no resemblance to its predecessor.  It is truly now a community building for the 21st century which is modern in appearance and with up-to-date facilities, such as wi-fi, hearing loops, CCTV and a security system.  It is on one level so that it is accessible to all throughout.  As well as updating the main hall, a second room with its own access has been added so that two events can take place at the same time or the whole venue can be hired as one.  The car park has been extended and now accommodates up to 20 vehicles.

The Hall Improvement Project team, comprising a small group of volunteers led by Project Director Nick Rouse, has worked tirelessly since 2014 to raise the necessary funds of £624,000 to carry out the project and to oversee the excellent work done by our main contractor, M & P Dunn Limited.  Nick commented “it has been a long slog involving thousands of volunteer hours to get us to this point and we certainly hadn’t anticipated a global pandemic as one of our risk factors.  I am enormously proud of the modern and sustainable building we have delivered and hope that this will be at the centre of the community for many years to come.  We would like to give our sincere thanks to all of our funders and local residents for their support.”  The professional team working alongside Nick included Inkpen Downie Architecture & Design Limited [Architect], Burr & Neve LLP [Quantity Surveyors] and Ken Rush & Associates [Structural Engineers]. 

Our major funder was The Big Lottery Reaching Community Buildings Fund which provided a grant of £400,000.  The Project team was successful in becoming the first village hall in Essex to achieve a grant from the Defra fund, announced in 2018 to mark the centenary of the armistice, at the maximum level of £75,000.

Other funders who supported the Project include the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Fowler, Smith & Jones Trust, the Tom Amos Charity, Essex County Council Community Initiatives Fund, the Bernard Sunley Foundation, the Foyle Foundation, Charles S French Charitable Trust, Essex Community Foundation and Ridgewell Parish Council.  Donations have been received from villagers and local organisations, such as Ridgewell Garden Society and Ridgewell Patchwork Friends and residents have contributed through a Buy a Brick initiative and a Lottery 200 Club.  In addition, a whole host of fundraising events have taken place since 2014.

Over £50,000 of new play equipment has already been installed at the site as part of this Project and is proving very popular with families from the village and surrounding area.

A full list of our funders and their contribution can be found here.