The original Church Hall was built by the villagers themselves on the vicarage orchard from mainly prefabricated concrete with work being carried out almost every evening and Saturday over a period of 12 months in 1951 and 1952. A kitchen extension was built in 1960, again by voluntary labour.
It was built because the School buildings became no longer available for community use. The cost was raised by loans and fundraising in the village.
By 2007 it became clear that the hall would not survive much longer as its facilities and structure were out of date with modern requirements, so local residents came together to plan a replacement.
The designs and planning were well established when, in 2010, an amazing act of generosity took place.
The existing Batheaston Church Hall was the brainchild of the then Vicar, Rev. Reg. Evans.
PATSY TOWNSEND
Patsy Townsend, a lifelong Batheaston resident and popular member of the Church congregation, left a legacy, the funds from the sale of her home. In response to this, local residents established the Batheaston New Village Hall charity to administer the funds and to move the project to build a new Village Hall forward. A new hall was designed and in 2013 planning approval from B&NES planners was given. Unfortunately, over the next 4 years, the plans were challenged causing frustrating delays. However, in 2017, a final set of approved plans went unchallenged clearing the way for progress to be made. Throughout this time the Trustees were shown unwavering support from the wider Batheaston community. However, as the years passed by, the Old Hall inevitably reached the end of its safe and workable life and following a respectful party of celebration for all of those years, it was demolished in June 2018 At the same time, it became apparent that with inflation and the complex design of the new Hall, an alternative, less costly option was needed. To address this need and progress the New Village Hall, a refreshed team of Trustees, under the new leadership of George Riley, was formed in 2018 and following further consultations, a new building was designed at much reduced cost with a local Architect donating significant time to the project. In 2019, planning permission was granted for the redesigned hall and after a selection process, local building contractor, Sage Developments, were awarded the contract to build the Hall. By the end of July 2020, and after successfully concluding all the legal and contractural paper work, building will be under way. At the same time a major fundraising campaign was launched to raise the £200,000 to complete the project. The Trustees are committed to see this project successfully through and need your continued help and support to rebuild this essential venue and allow village groups to return and bring back those lost social opportunities for all.Unfortunately it was decided that the Hall had reached the end of its workable life. Following a party put on and attended by the local residents to celebrate the place within the community for over 50 years, it was demolished in June.
At the same time, it became apparent that with inflation and the complex design of the Hall, an alternative, less costly option was needed.
To address this need and progress the New Village Hall, a refreshed team of Trustees, under the new leadership of George Riley, was formed in 2018 and following further consultations, a new building was designed at much reduced cost with a local Architect donating significant time to the project.
Finally, challenges to the approved plans were dropped paving way for the project to proceed. The delays were recognised as frustrating and very costly but solid support from the Batheaston community showed that the New Village Hall was a worthy project and one to urgently progress before costs spiraled further out of reach.
The new hall was designed and planning approval from B&NES planners was given. Unfortunately, the design at that time, although approved by planning, raised several issues that were formally challenged, resulting in the project failing to get off the ground. Sadly, several years were lost and much energy spent which were to fully test the resolve of the New Village Hall Trustees.
The residents had created some designs and started planning but hadn’t been able to move forward. However Patsy Townsend, a lifelong Batheaston resident, sadly passed away leaving behind a generous legacy. This legacy was the funds from the sale of her home. Using these funds a charity was set up by local residents to administer them and to move the project forward.
By this time it had become clear that the hall would not survive much longer as its facilities and structure were out of date with modern requirements, so local residents came together to plan a replacement.
The villagers again banded together to build a kitchen extension.
The existing Batheaston Church Hall was the brainchild of the then Vicar, Rev. Reg. Evans. It was built because the School buildings became no longer available for community use. The cost was raised by loans and fundraising by the village. The hall was then built by the villagers volunteering their time on evenings and Saturdays over a period of 12 months. It was built mainly out of prefabricated concrete on the vicarage orchard.