Woolpit Village Hall
The heart of a thriving local community
The heart of a thriving local community
The heart of a thriving local community
In the early part of the 20th century, Woolpit was a small village on a major road which crossed East Anglia. You will see from this 1932 aerial photo that the village centre was compact but ribbon development had begun along Green Road and Mill Lane. Where the village hall now stands, next to the row of semi - detached houses in Mill Lane, was an open field.
Woolpit Parish Council (WPC) purchased the freehold of this field in 1938 from RDC Thedwastre. This was a brilliant, forward-looking decision as it retained the land for public use and green space in the heart of the village. The RDC set a condition not to use land other than for a recreation ground or playing field.
The Woolpit Recreation Ground Charity RCN 274791 (WRGC) was created on 2nd April1963 when the WPC leased to WRGC, the field which was known as the Recreation Ground, sometimes called the Playing Field. This lease included the parking area off Mill Lane. The Lease is the ‘Governing Document’ of that charity. In 1990 Mid Suffolk District Council took a sub lease for the creation of the car park opposite the church.
In the 1970s it became clear that Woolpit needed a much bigger village hall for community use. There was a small community building already on the site. On 3rd March 1978, the WPC conveyed part of Recreation Ground to the Trustees of Woolpit Village Hall. The price paid was £1. The land conveyed is roughly where the village hall is today but did not include the site of the more recent building of the Cathie Prior Room. The car park at the front of the village hall was not part of the land. The conveyance included for the village hall a right of way over and use of concrete parking at the front.
This 1978 Conveyance created the Woolpit Village Hall Charity RCN. 275859 and is the Governing Document of the village hall charity.
A great many people put in time and effort to both to fund raise for the construction of the village hall and by working directly on construction and subsequent repair and maintenance. By the mid-1980s the hall was complete. It is a true community building built for and by the residents of Woolpit.
The village hall charity is run by trustees on behalf of the residents of the parish. To reflect the community building status, the Governing Document set down rules for the election, appointment and co-option of trustees.
all trustees retire at the AGM flowing their election, appoint or co-option. They can stand for re-election, organisations can re-appoint them and co-option can take place as before.
Over time some of the eight village organisations which have the right to appoint trustees, have changed their names, ceased to use the hall or ceased to exist. The Governing Document anticipated this happening and included a provision for other organisations to apply to the trustees to be able to appoint a representative trustee. The trustees welcome applications.
The 1978 Governing Document is now a bit old fashioned. It does not take account of modern charity law, modern styles of communication and the vast complications faced by the trustees of public buildings in adhering to and paying for fire, health and safety, safeguarding and a myriad of other rules.
New templates for governing documents for village hall charities are available. Whist taking account of a more modern way of operating, at the heart of them remains the recognition that a village hall belongs to its community. To reflect this these templates, include similar provisions for election, appointment and co-option of trustees to those in the 1978 document. The village hall trustees are considering adopting such a new governing document.
