Hall Development

Last Edited 16/01/10

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Lee Memorial Hall Development Project

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To all residents and households in the village and surrounding area:

Newsletter 8 - January 2010

Now that the Christmas and New Year festivities are over, it seems a good time to update everyone on the Hall development project, the plans for the re-opening of the Hall and events planned for 2010.

Many of you will be aware of the progress on the new building and the refurbishment of the Hall. Work has been going very well with only one major problem (so far!). The structure of the new building is complete, the slates are on the roof and the stonework is coming on well. The inside has already had much done to it and the demolition of the back wall of the stage has transformed the area of the stage and committee room. The new bridge to create disabled access to the committee room is in place and much new electrical wiring is also in place. Many of the new internal fittings have been ordered for delivery when needed. All of this is very positive and exciting!

Despite the appalling weather in November, Paul and his men have worked extremely hard and are more or less on schedule. The bad weather has delayed things a little and a lot of additional work (and expense) has occurred because of an unforeseen problem with waste disposal. With the approval of the Environment Agency, the intention had been to link the new septic tank outlets to the soakaways from the old septic tanks. Unfortunately, it became clear that there was only one soakaway and that only consisted of clinker at the bottom of the second tank. Whilst adequate in most circumstances, a similar arrangement is quite unacceptable today. To meet modern requirements, the only workable solution is for water from the second new tank to transfer to a third chamber, from which it is pumped through a 2 inch pipe to the top of the meadow. From the top of the meadow, it then filters through new soakaways spreading out through the upper part of the meadow. This essential work has now been completed but it has meant the digging up of large areas of the meadow during the very wet weather in November. I can only apologise for the present condition of the meadow, but we really have had no alternative. Now that most of the disruption to the meadow has occurred, I hope it will recover before too long.

The additional work and the bad weather have put back the timetable a little, but we are confident that the building work will now be completed by the end of February. So we are already looking to the plans for March and beyond. At the last meeting of the Hall committee, we agreed that time would be needed after the main building work is complete to get the whole Hall complex into top condition. In particular, we recognised that the original hall will look very shabby alongside the new building and will need thorough cleaning and redecoration. We agreed to the following timescale and we are looking for volunteers to help us.

Weeks beginning 1 March and 8 March – thorough cleaning and redecorating of the main hall;

Week beginning 15 March – fitting out of building: fixing old kitchen cupboards into storage areas, putting up pictures, etc.;

Week beginning 22 March – village organisations put their equipment into new storage areas;

Saturday 27 March – Open Day 11.00 am to 5.00 pm, with the theme of ‘Celebrate Lee’. See later for further details.

We really do need several volunteers to help get the hall ready for the re-opening, and, if you are able to offer practical help and support for these vital tasks, I do urge you to put your name forward even if you can only give a small amount of time. Mavis Rogers has undertaken to organise the cleaning and Tony Seymour has undertaken to organise the redecorating. If you are able to help, please contact Mavis, Tony or myself. Your help will be much appreciated. Please let us know!

On Saturday 27 March, we are inviting each village group or organisation (there are more than a dozen) to take an area of the hall to display and advertise themselves. The event will, of course, be open to all residents and anyone else who wants to come along. We hope such an event will be interesting and will be a very enjoyable social occasion. We want it to be an event to celebrate life in the village and to emphasise that the Hall is a facility for everyone in the village. At some time during the day, we shall have an informal ceremony to mark the re-opening when, hopefully, representatives of organisations who have made grants to the Hall will also be present as well as many residents and second home owners. So please reserve the date now!

Since I last wrote to you at the end of October, we have received 3 further grants, all relatively small but most welcome, and we have received a generous donation of £1,000 from Lee WI for which we are most grateful. A number of residents have offered interest free loans amounting to £13,000 in total and we have also received an interest free loan of £2,000 from the Community Council of Devon. We are also most grateful for donations from a number of residents and second home owners. So it now seems likely that we shall not need to borrow any money at commercial rates of interest. We still do, however, have an urgent need for further funds so that we can repay the loans as soon as possible and make up any further shortfall. On a separate sheet is the provisional programme of events we plan over much of 2010. Apart from the Open Day on 27 March to celebrate the re-opening of the Hall, we hope the others will be good fundraisers. However, we are still looking for further donations. So, if you have not yet made a donation but are able to do so, please send your contribution to the Hall Treasurer, Edna Thompson, Fisherman’s Cottage, Lee, EX34 8LR. If you have mislaid the Gift Aid Form from my previous letter, please don’t worry. If you can make a Gift Aid declaration, please let Edna know when you send your donation and she will be delighted to send one to you!

There is much more I could have put into this newsletter, but I do hope you feel you are being kept in touch and have sufficient information. However, if you have queries or would like more information about any aspect of the development project and the fundraising, please contact me or any other member of the committee. I look forward to seeing you at the Open Day on 27 March and on other occasions during the year.

Best wishes for 2010.

Ian Stuart, Chairman

Combelynchet, Lincombe, Lee, Ilfracombe, EX34 8LL

01271 863396 ianstuart@homecall.co.uk

LEE MEMORIAL HALL

EVENTS FOR 2010: MARCH – AUGUST

These plans are provisional and subject to change, but should give a reasonable idea of what will be happening.

Saturday 27 March 11.00 am – 5.00 pm: CELEBRATE LEE!

An event to mark the re-opening of the Hall and a chance to celebrate life in the village. Village groups and organisations will be displaying what they do and the event will be an opportunity to find out more about what goes on, explore the new buildings and meet old and new friends. Drinks and refreshments will be available.

Saturday 24 April (exact date to be confirmed): RACE NIGHT

Last year’s event was an outstanding success with tremendous excitement and noise in the Hall. No doubt this year’s event will be tremendous fun as well. Look out for notices about the event.

Mid May: QUIZ NIGHT

This will also be a repeat of a very successful and popular event. A hot supper will be served during the evening.

Monday 31 May 2.00 pm: SPRING FAYRE

This event has been a firm fixture in the life of the village for many years. As usual, it will take place on the late Spring Bank Holiday with all the usual attractions of stalls, games and entertainment.

Mid June: ANTIQUES EVENING

This planned event had to be postponed last year because of the illness of the speaker. We are hoping to re-schedule it this June. It will be an opportunity to have your antiques and memorabilia valued as well as listen to an expert speaker.

Saturday July 31 – Sunday 15 August: CRAFTS EXHIBITION, LIGHT LUNCHES, CREAM TEAS, ETC.

The annual exhibition will take on a different form this year with an emphasis on crafts. The additional facilities of the Hall will enable refreshments to be served throughout the exhibition to provide further attractions for visitors. Plans are still being formulated, so watch out for more information!