Fulking.net

Quotations Group
This group continues to meet in the village hall at 11am on Mondays. It is a friendly group of villagers who have become good friends. Each meeting has a catalyst of a word chosen by popular demand around which the meeting is based. Attendances are rarely more than ten which we have found is an ideal number for a discussion. We seem to be mostly female but welcome anyone. Discussions are friendly and cover any subject that those present care to bring up.  It would be of great value if more and similar groups could meet up and possibly discuss local ideas and problems as well as international matters.

Old Friends
Just bumped into Harry Diamond in a restaurant. He was looking very fit and it reminded me of an occasion probably twenty years ago or more: I was then Chair of the Parish Council and Harry and I met the Chair of Mid Sussex District Council (MSDC) in the field next to Harry’s house whish was too large for just he and Charmaine to live in. The  purpose of the meeting was to discuss the possibility of Harry transferring the whole of his bottom field to the Parish Council, completely free with no charges whatsoever so that that a new village hall with adjacent parking might be built. In exchange for this very generous and highly practical offer Harry was to get planning permission to build a smaller house than his own in the adjacent field. The MSDC Chair immediately dismissed the offer saying ‘we don’t do deals at MSDC’. So that is why a considerable amount of money is being raised to acquire the current village hall.

The fund raising appears to be on target for the acquisition of the Village Hall from the Church.
It would be good to know that plans are in place for the really necessary repair and maintenance work that is going to need to be funded.
Because I am aged and disabled I am particularly concerned about the highly dangerous steps and entrance door opening out onto those steps. Wheelchair access is impossible which excludes anyone with that need from attending the hall. In order to update this entrance from the entrance gate to the front door must cost several thousand pounds and I hope this has been budgeted for in future costings.

In setting out the foregoing I am only expressing concern that the enthusiasm for acquiring the hall has not obscured the serious costs that are going to be needed to improve and indeed maintain the hall, if it is going to continue to be the asset it has been in the past.