The village hall in Spaxton has been a village landmark for more than 70 years. For the past four years it has provided local primary school children with a welcome hot meal during the school day from its kitchens, and given residents a vital meeting space for their social and leisure activities.
Nestled in a valley at the foot of the Quantock Hills some six to eight miles from Bridgwater, Somerset, lies the village of Spaxton where the hall joins the church and pub as an important aspect of village life for some 1,000 villagers.
With increasing utility bills, Spaxton Village Hall faced rising costs - made all the harder to handle when income for the hall from its regular and occasional bookings began to decline. Desperate to make the hall more viable, the committee realised it needed to overhaul its facilities in order to reduce its running costs - but knew that such work was beyond its means. The Committee turned to the Community Council for Somerset for advice that soon proved invaluable regarding potential grants and funding.
Valencia Communities Fund provided a solution, awarding the Hall £13,432 for a refurbishment project that included the installation of 52 solar PV panels; new double-glazed windows; cavity wall, loft and roof insulation. According to Alison Jarah, co-treasurer of Spaxton Village Hall, the improvements are already paying dividends: "We fitted display units to show the energy efficiency of the hall following the work and are in the process of erecting information boards to explain what has been done so we can encourage local people to make their own homes more energy efficient.
"We've noticed that our electricity bills have gone down significantly and we believe this is due to the work we've had done, combined with making people more aware that the hall is here to be used and enjoyed - all thanks in part to the generous award from Valencia Communities Fund."