RED HOT CINDERS

The Bawdy Players, last October, raised funds for the new village hall with their performance of ‘Red Hot Cinders’.  A ‘home made’ DVD of the performance is now available.  You can obtain a copy of this unique recording for a donation of £5 to the new hall fund.  If you are interested, please contact David on 01362 688749.

Spend and Raise is starting to provide some funds but only a few residents are using it. We need YOUR help with this.

If you buy anything over the internet please check the Spend and Raise web site http://spendandraise.com/projectbawdeswell/ to see if the store that you want to use is listed.

IT WILL COST YOU NOTHING and you may find a bargain.

IF YOU HAVEN’T RECEIVED YOUR SURVEY FORM PLEASE CONTACT -M. Menzies 01362 688 400 or J. Lilwall 01362 688 499.

If you want another copy of the form you can download it here – form

Project Bawdeswell is preparing an application for funding from the Big Lottery Fund. Before we can submit stage one [of 3] we are required to carry out a new survey of needs in the village.

Why another Questionnaire?

Because if the Village is going to be successful in obtaining a grant from the Big Lottery Fund it must demonstrate its needs.

Now it is time to improve other facilities in the village and provide for the needs of all villagers.  How are we disadvantaged by living in a rural community?  How far do we have to travel from our homes to follow our interests?  Does the lack of transport hamper our lives?  Is there enough to interest the very young and the teenagers living in the village?  Are there older people living alone and feeling isolated?  What can be done to improve their lives?

The answers to the last survey meant we were given a generous grant to improve the Children’s Play area  and we think all would agree, it is a great bonus for village families.  Many other needs have been addressed and the success of these activities has led to the Village Hall Committee buying and renovating a Portakabin in order to accommodate some activities when double bookings are unavoidable.  This is very basic accommodation with no water or toilets and must be replaced.

Please join us at the next progress meeting in Bawdeswell Village Hall on Tuesday 19^th June, at 7.30pm to learn about the results of this survey and to help the project move forward.  Your support is invaluable.

Breckland Council formally approved the planning application for the new village hall on 19th January 2012. Although the plans had already been approved in principal there were a number of details that had to be agreed with the planners before the ‘official’ approval was given.

See http://planning.breckland.gov.uk/portal/pls/portal/BRECKWEB.RPT_APPLICATION_DETAILS.SHOW?p_arg_names=reference&p_arg_values=3PL/2011/0756/F for details.

We ended the 2011 on a high when just before Christmas we had formal notification from Breckland of a grant for 30% of the architect’s fee, an amount of just under £8,000. As soon as we have raised the rest of the money needed (and we are nearly there) we will give the go ahead to the architects. They will then proceed to draw up plans suitable for a builder to quote against. Lots more has been happening in the last two months too, discussions have continued with Breckland Planning and the final plans have been altered a little to meet their ideas, which we have found a positive experience although it has meant some more work and expense. The final business plan is just about complete too. Luckily we have had the support of some professionals in the village who have given their time for free, for which we are most grateful. One clever young man has done some computer imagining and produced a wonderful picture of what the new hall should look like in situ. Something will be done about the puddles too!

As we are finding there are a lot of stages to this project and the one we are focussing on for 2012 is obtaining grants. We have had a workshop type meeting to set out priorities, and plan to identify large capital grant givers and make applications to them in the first instance. Our next meeting [check this site to confirm date] will be held on Saturday 25th February in the village hall meeting room at 10.00 a.m. We are always happy to welcome anyone who would like to  be involved in this major project for the village.

We have all been extremely saddened by the sudden death of Phil Hague who has been a key person in the preparation of the plans for the new village hall. He has given hours and hours of his time to this project over the last 3-4years. We will miss him greatly and are even more determined than ever to make sure this project comes to fruition in his memory. There have been two meetings with Breckland recently and some changes have been made to the façade of the building which we and Planning are happy with. Going through the plans with them has been a helpful and positive process. At the meeting on Tuesday 8th November the changes to the façade were shown and well received. So all that is finally in place and the Business Plan is also complete now, for which we are most grateful to Lovewell Blake, who have prepared it for us under the Pro Help scheme totally free of charge. We saw some new faces at the open meeting on Tuesday and are grateful for the offers of support we received, which are also very encouraging. It was also encouraging to see how the Buy a Brick scheme has grown in the six months since the last presentation. We expect to hold another open meeting in about 6 months so if you missed it this time we will hope to see you then. Fel Roberts sold several bottles of Bawdeswell Village Hall labelled wine and more is available from her. Our focus from here on will be on fundraising. The Committee intends to start the New Year with a Work Shop researching appropriate grant givers, so I guess we look forward to filling in a lot of forms next year! We are continuing our Wednesday morning weeding and litter picking at the play area and have planted about 300 bulbs. We had a lovely sunny afternoon doing that with some children and mothers during half term . So fingers crossed they come up and the squirrels don’t find them!

Our big news is that we have received planning approval [in principal] from Breckland Council for the proposed rebuilding of the Village Hall with some recommendations. A meeting is organised to take place with BrecklandPlanning shortly to go over some points, and when funds are available the conceptual plans we have drawn up will go to the architects for final detailed design suitable for building contractors to quote against, and for the addition of some architectural flair.We are continuing weeding and litter picking at the Children’s Play Area fortnightly (weather permitting) on Wednesdays at 9.30 am – next dates are 2nd November and 16th November. The new hall fund has a balance of about £14,500 at the moment, and if you have not yet committed to the Buy a Brick standing order scheme please, please consider doing so. Forms are available from David Cockburn 01362 688749 or Marietta Menzies 01362 688400

Project Bawdeswell are delighted to have been awarded matched funding of nearly £8,000 by Breckland Council. We will now be able to commence the engagement of professional services to provide a detailed design package which can be issued for tender to potential contractors for construction. This will include drawings, specifications, tender/contract documentation. The plans need to be developed professionally to ensure compliance and safety, environmental and building regulations and achieve the greatest economy of construction.

New Village Hall – Project Update

On Tuesday 8^th November at 7.30pm at the Village Hall a presentation was given to update the village on progress towards the new hall. A copy of the presentation is available by clicking here.

The Bar/Café was open and had a lively trade with £30  profit going to the New Hall Fund.

Project Bawdeswell Mourns the passing of Phil Hague

Phil who passed away suddenly on the evening of 3rd November 2011 will be sorely missed by the team. He had been at the core of the planning for the new hall building and had also made personal contributions to the New Hall fund through the sale of his paintings of local houses. A member also of the Village Hall Committee and a founder member of ‘The Bawdy Players’ who performed ‘Red Hot Cinders’ at the recent Harvest Supper with Phil as the Herald.

Our thoughts at this time are with Betty and her family.