Farringdon Village Hall forced to close until further notice

Following the temporary closure of the Village Hall, the Village Hall Management Committee have published the following information.

Massey's Folly in Upper Farringdon near Alton, recent contender on the BBC2 Restoration programme, is a magnificent Grade II listed building identified by the East Hampshire District Council as 'at risk'.

That risk became more evident last week when, following an ongoing maintenance inspection, the Farringdon Village Hall committee were, on 11th January, alerted to the fact that cracks had appeared in an upper wall of the building and that there was some movement in that wall which needed to be urgently considered by a structural engineer. The committee made the decision immediately to close the Village Hall to ensure the safety of all users.

Once the structural engineer has advised, the committee will arrange for remedial works to be undertaken to make the building safe before re-opening the Village Hall. The EHDC have been informed of the situation that has arisen and are offering to assist with possible grant funding for the urgent repairs.

The two charities, Massey's Folly Preservation Trust and Farringdon Village Hall, have made a determined effort, over the last twelve months, to gain funding from individuals and organisations to advance their vision to have the whole of Massey's Folly restored for the use of the residents of Farringdon and the wider community of East Hampshire.

The Heritage Lottery Fund and Architectural Heritage Fund have given grants to enable a full time community project worker to be employed and for a conservation management plan to be prepared to establish exactly what work is needed to restore the building.

This funding is the first step to help the community onto a path that will support and facilitate the development of the plan for Massey's Folly to become a sustainable community resource.

The Farringdon Village Hall charity only owns one side of the building and negotiations with the private trust that owns the other part of the building are continuing. Massey's Folly Preservation Trust have been offered sufficient funds, by the Architectural Heritage Fund, to buy that part of the building but can only pay market price. Regrettably, the negotiations have become protracted, as the private trust seem rather more determined to get the best price than to ensure that this building gains the funding that it so badly needs.

Both Massey's Folly Preservation Trust and Farringdon Village Hall have every confidence that the building can be saved and restored with the co-operation and support of the village and wider community and also the statutory bodies and funding organisations.

E-mail: donna.corbin@btopenworld.com