DERSINGHAM VILLAGE CENTRE

The new Dersingham Village Centre and Village Hall

Dersingham is a large village of around 5000 population, but it is unusual in never having had a village hall. There are various halls dotted around the village, but some of them are dilapidated or have restrictions on their use. But the good news is, we are building a brand new one! Thanks to St Nicholas Church PCC, the existing Church Hall has been transferred to the Dersingham Parish Council and will form the site of the new building. Construction of the new hall began in September 2017 and the building will reflect its position as a hub for the village by being named The Dersingham Village Centre.

The new Dersingham Village Centre will consist of a building containing a large multi-function hall, plus a substantial meeting room and a further area called The Hub. This will enable a large variety of services and activities to take place. These will include job clubs, children’s centre sessions, weekend kids club, lunch/tea drop-ins, health related sessions, as well as providing a large hall for social functions, wedding receptions, conferences, training etc. The new building will use the latest technology to be energy efficient and easy to maintain. The design enables the rooms to be used by different groups at the same time.

Management and running of the new Centre will be the responsibility of the Dersingham Village Centre Association. The Association is a recognised partner of the Parish Council in the project, and is taking the lead with fundraising. To this end, the Association has recently been granted charitable status and our charity number is 1178462.

Latest News - May 2018

Construction is going well. The roof is now in place and with the building watertight fitting out of the interior is proceeding, with electricians and other tradesmen hard at work. Thanks to a grant of £88,250.00 from WREN, work which was removed from the initial build contract to meet our budget of £850,000 can now be proceeded with. This includes a commercial standard kitchen, first floor meeting room suite, photovoltaic cells, and floor covering throughout.

The Council was obliged to add a significant sum to the precept to support unexpected fees. You will see this when you receive your Council Tax bills. It will look like a large amount, but the extra sum added for the Village Centre equates to 40p a week for a Band D property. This will mean every household is contributing towards an amenity which will provide new, much needed, services for every one of us. You can read more about the funding of the new centre from the link below.

How to Book

We are already taking bookings and you can find our hire rates and terms and conditions from the link below. We anticipate that the Centre will be completed and available for hire from October 2018. If you are interested in booking any of the Centre's rooms for an event or for regular sessions, or require any further information please email us at bookings@dersinghamvillagecentre.org.uk or you can complete our Booking Enquiry form, see the link below. You can also check availability using the Booking Calendar link, but please note that the calendar is not fully populated yet, so is just a guide.

Fundraising

Although much of the cost of the new Village Centre has been met by grants from a variety of sources, including the Big Lottery, the Dersingham Village Centre Association are still raising funds to equip the new hall with all the essentials of a modern community building. You can help, by joining our Village Centre Lottery, or by sponsoring or buying bricks and tiles. Or, of course, you can just make a donation. Whichever way you choose, your generosity is much appreciated and will enhance the experience of all the eventual users of the Village Centre.