Renewal of Diddlebury Village Hall Consultation Questionnaire Response

 Refurbishment of existing hall  Replacement building built on existing site  Replacement building built on new site Renewal – The Options

 “ Border Oak” traditional style  Positive response  Fit for purpose  Realistic cost  Sustainable construction e Design acceptable to the Community

 Least planning issues  Project easier to manage In line with resources - scale flexible - affordable  Least controversial Refurbishment – most likely

Raising Funds - Lottery Grant Outline Proposal  Principal source of funding (up to £500k)  16 Pages !  Help from Gill Porter - Shrophire Rural Community Council  Draft based on current knowledge  Gaps identified

Lottery Grant Outline Proposal - issues  “Important to get it right!”  Share issues  How we are addressing these  Suggestions from meeting

Examples of activities since the last Consultation  Regular bookings – Dancing, Badminton, Tiny Tots, Parish Council, Zumba  Ale in the Dale  Election  Folk Concert  Church Events  Ceilidh  Installation of Vicar  Church Fete  Funeral teas  Skittles evening  Autumn Show  Harvest Supper  Scout Weekends  Family events Clearly at risk if hall not renewed

However - Lottery Grant:  Although it is obvious that DVH is rapidly deteriorating and is unfit for purpose, this is outside the scope of the grant application form  Not an application for the building  Not sufficient to say we would lose existing activities  Need to base application on proposed use and the underlying benefits to community  Advice from

Project Objectives – Mental gymnastics! Outcomes of renewal  Improves quality of life  Stimulates wider participation  Encourages socialisation  Reduces rural isolation

Identifying need: the underlying problems i.e. Problems that will arise if DVH ceases  Limited services locally  Rural isolation  Need to travel outside area  Ageing DVH a barrier to :  Socialising & sharing common interests.  Engaging in local activities  Opportunities for young people/elderly  Reducing rural isolation

Identifying need: the evidence  Gaps identified  2013 Parish Plan survey good but needs broadening  Shropshire Council Plan & Surveys  OCSI report for Diddlebury  Census  Parish Plan

Draft Grant Application – Gaps identified  In order to make our case we required more evidence of need  DVHC decided on further consultation with Community  Questionnaire agreed as best approach

Designing the Questionnaire  6 questions so it could be completed in a couple of minutes  Freepost envelopes to encourage response  Printed in-house to minimise cost

6 Questions to provide supporting evidence  Identify attendance of DVH from within the Parish  Find out how many/why people attended events outside the village  Is there a reliance on others for transport  What improvements the community thinks are necessary  Explore what new events and activities would encourage participants Key Question:  Would improvements encourage more participation in events and activities?

Questionnaire – what it involved  Designing questions, printing forms, stuffing envelopes > 50 hours  286 address labels from the Council  Return envelopes free post to Shropshire RCC  Analysis > 20 hours  Mailing Cost £320

Response Questionnaires Sent Out: 284 Response: % Target: 85 30% Considering the poll topic this is a very good response rate Compares very favourably with similar polls in other parishes/counties; typically 20-25% This in itself indicates considerable involvement/interest in our Village Hall from local population

How often has anyone in your household attended an event or activity in Diddlebury Village Hall in the past 12 months? Analysis: Of the 102 responses, 43% use village hall at least 4 times/year Conclusions: This is very high usage rate compared with average use of similar halls Compared with similar halls, DVH plays much greater role in local society and is an important contributor to local community

Has anyone in your household attended an event or activity in other village halls or community centres? Please tick the reason. Analysis: This question can have more than one answer. 68 households used other village halls because of better facilities / wider choice of activities Conclusion: Usage of DVH could be much higher given better and additional facilities.

Does anyone in your household rely on others to transport them to events and activities inside or outside the village? Conclusions: The 16 households most likely include children or older persons

Please show which improvements would be welcomed by your household. Analysis: Most favoured improvements: Toilets, Heating & Draughts Quality/Ambience of building Main Hall, Kitchen facilities Conclusions: Most favoured improvements are pretty fundamental to use of hall They could be achieved without major structural change. New building would not be a prerequisite to providing them.

Please indicate the type of activities members of your household would attend Analysis: All activities have enough interest to establish new user groups Most popular new : Family events and parties Drama, Film Fitness activities, Yoga / Pilates, Film Club Conclusion: If ambience, heating and facilities of Hall were significantly improved: Hall would enable much greater participation in a wider range of activities

Do you think that the improvements being considered will encourage members of your household to attend events in the village hall more often than currently? Analysis: Two thirds of households would use hall more if improvements were made Conclusions: An improved village hall would result in greater community participation in events and activities.

Conclusion - Project Objectives met! Improvements to the hall would increase  range of activities  participation in activities These in turn would meet our Project Objectives:  Improves quality of life  Stimulates wider participation  Encourages socialisation  Reduces rural isolation.

Conclusion: Underlying problems addressed A wider range of activities would enable local population to use a local hall and:  address rural isolation  reduce need to travel outside area  encourage:  Socialising & sharing common interests.  Engaging in local activities  Opportunities for young people/elderly

Raising Funds – DVH renewal fund A new building would not be a prerequisite to providing the additional and better facilities that the local population has identified.“  £11,700  AITD  Open Gardens  Harvest Supper  Other events  Plus Volunteer hours

DVH renewal - definitely not this! The £1 million, seven-storey village hall of Yungai in Hunan

Who to contact - DVH committee Tony Ian Tom Amie Chris Mike Sally