Lazonby Village Hall
We are working our way through an ambitious renovation project for the hall which has seen the heating, toilets, kitchen and attached flat all being upgraded to improve the experience we can offer to our users.
The first stage of our renovation involved raising around £20,000 to upgrade and improve the heating and downstairs storage areas. This will help with upkeep and running costs as well as making the hall a warmer and more welcoming place in the winter.
This aspect is now complete and although it's been difficult to spot what has actually changed, regular users have definitely noticed the difference!​
The second stage of renovation was to get rid of the old and tired toilet blocks and replace them with three unisex, single cubicles - each containing its own sink - and a family room which has both adult and child sized sinks and toilets as well as baby changing facilities.The accessible toilet was unfortunately not big enough to realise our ambition of creating a changing places toilet but it did benefit from a quick revamp.
Stage 3/4 is now underway with work being done on both the cottage -> flat conversion and the kitchen/storage extension.
With the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the cottage conversion took on a new life as the committee pledged to offer the new flat through the homes for refugees scheme. A huge amount of support was received from villagers (and some from further afield), local businesses and tradespeople, local media and village groups who between them raised funds, donated goods or services, raised awareness and got stuck in to the nitty gritty work of gutting and rebuilding what eventually turned into a comfortable home beyond the committee's wildest dreams. See the full transformation in the powerpoint below.
The hall's kitchen and level access storage options gained a huge boost through the re-integration of what had been the cottage's downstairs rooms. This just about doubled the size of the kitchen allowing us to create a commercial quality space with a wide range of facilities. As well as this, half of what had been the cottage living room has been turned into a storage space, offering easy access to the main hall's folding tables and chairs as well as providing a home for the larger cleaning items.
Stage 5 will involve thermal insulation of the large external back wall of the hall which will also serve to improve the acoustics somewhat. This will be followed by a full (and much anticipated) redecoration of the main hall before we start again, Forth Bridge style, on the Jubilee room.​​
Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming fundraising events and activities to support this project. If you have any ideas or suggestions we'd love to hear them - send us an email at lazonbyvillagehall@btinternet.com