On this page you will find details of the Village Halls Advisory Service and details of who to contact at the CRCC for more information.

Village halls, church and chapel halls and other "community centres" provide a vital local resource for the villages and parishes they serve. Most are registered charities run by committees drawn from the local community which manage and maintain them on a voluntary basis. A wide range of activities take place in these buildings and provide a mechanism for personal contact where others may have been lost (eg shop, school, post office). In this respect they play their part in helping communities retain their sense of community identity.

The CRCC provides a long established Village Halls Advisory Service offering help in the following areas:

• Charitable status and registration
• Interpretation of trust deeds and the establishment of new trusts
• Legislative requirements
• Licensing obligations
• Successful management
• Project design and management
• Funding advice

We have a series of publications which provide advice and information on the diverse range of issues faced by hall management committees. These publications are developed by national village hall experts and legal advisors through ACRE to provide concise and up to date information. ACRE (Action for Communities in Rural England) is the national umbrella organisation for the 38 rural community councils across England. To view the list of available publications and the order form click on the link below.

Community Buildings Publication List (45 KB Download)

The purpose of this survey is to analyse the impact on village halls, and the communities using them, arising from various levels of investment for capital improvement projects. It compares hall use prior to investment, with changes following development. It will be seen that the information gained illustrates the immense and long-lasting benefits that are brought to communities through capital investment in village halls and other community buildings, and can be used to assure new and potential funders that putting money into village hall projects is a long term investment in our rural communities.

Key Findings

The overall impact of the project investment is shown in the following figures:

• Monthly bookings increased by 268%
• Weekly bookings increased by 176%
• Occasional bookings increased by 70%

These are total figures taken from the 30 halls surveyed. It is consistently shown that investment in a village hall results in significant increases in its usage. In the comments section of this report, one can also see the increase in diversity of use of the hall and new populations served.

The Impact of the Investment in Village Halls (475 KB Download)