The aim of the Awards is to find the UK’s best and most dedicated rural crime fighters whose actions have made the biggest difference to their local neighbourhoods. There are four award categories, each with a cash prize of £1,000 up for grabs, including Individual Crime Fighter/Innovation Award, Local Bobby Award, and Community Scheme Award

Entries should be submitted online by midnight on 31 May 2013.

More information on the NFU Mutual website.

As reported in the February 2013 issue of Village Hall News, the committee of Longparish Village Hall has just overseen a major refurbishment project.  John Scott, the chairman, has kindly agreed to share their experiences and knowledge at a briefing session on 9 May.
 
If your Hall is in need of refurbishment, extension or any kind of major building work, then we strongly urge you to come and hear what John and the Longparish team have achieved.  Their Hall is now a first-class community facility and we are sure you will take away some inspiration for your own Hall.  The session details are as follows:
 
Where: Longparish Village Hall, Longparish, near Andover, SP11 6PB
When: Thursday 9 May, 7.30-9.30pm
Cost: Free for Community Halls Advice Service subscribers, £20 per place otherwise
 
Download the booking form

If your organisation is an Advice Service member then you can simply save the booking form to your computer, fill it in, and email it to Kevin Sawers

Would you like to reduce energy usage at your community building?
 
How about looking at the possibility of generating your own power?

If this applies to you then be sure to book a place or two at our briefing session with Winchester Action on Climate Change (WinACC), which will help you develop an action plan for making your hall more energy-efficient.
 
The session will take place at the Meon Hall in Meonstoke on Wednesday 15 May, from 7.30 to 9.30pm.  Places cost just £5 each and you can book your place now.

Is the age profile of your residents becoming more elderly and does this mean there are challenges ahead in meeting care needs?

There may not be the local shops, post office, bus service or pub that there used to be.

Does this sound familiar?

Add to this the fact that public spending is being cut and affecting services such as libraries, youth clubs, day care and waste disposal/recycling and you could end up thinking that the future is bleak.

But we don’t have to accept this scenario. We are not powerless to improve village life. Here in Hampshire and elsewhere in England there are villages with little infrastructure that are thriving because of real community spirit.

So how can we turn this situation around? Should we be doing more for ourselves and our community?

A good starting point is to identify your local assets by undertaking a stock take of what already exists in your village. We tend to concentrate on what is missing rather than on how to mobilise and build on our assets, assets such as our existing groups and activities and local support networks and tangible assets like the village hall or the shop.

So if you are wondering  “how can I help make my community more sustainable?”, why not contact CAH and find out more about developing a sustainability plan to influence the future of where you live.

If you would like to follow this idea up, please contact Jo Dixon on 01962 857354 or joanna.dixon(at)actionhants.org.uk

If this applies to you then be sure to book a place or two at our briefing session with Winchester Action on Climate Change (WinACC), which will help you develop an action plan for making your hall more energy-efficient.

You will hear from an expert on reducing energy consumption and learn about how charities and groups in Hampshire have improved their premises and made savings on their energy bills.
 
The session will take place at the Meon Hall in Meonstoke on Wednesday 27 March, from 7.30 to 9.30pm.  Places cost just £5 each and you can book your place now.

These have just been revised and the full versions are now available by email from CAH.  Community Halls Advice Service subscribers get a 50% discount on the standard prices listed below for an email version, while non-subscribers receive a 25% discount when ordering through Community Action Hampshire.  Subscribers only can also order paper copies of the model documents through us, at the prices noted below (which are inclusive of postage).

• Lease of land and trust deed: £10 (i.e. reduced to £5 by email for Advice Service subscribers)
• Transfer of freehold land and trust deed: £10
• Occupational licence: £5
• Preliminary declaration of trust: £5
• Articles of Association for a village hall limited company: £10
• Charitable Incorporated Organisation model: new document available shortly
• Hiring agreement: latest version available shortly

Please note the paper versions are now simply printed from the electronic version with a card cover added; the two formats are otherwise identical.

Contact Kevin Sawers for more information and to order copies of these documents.

Key points

The prices charged by halls vary considerably, partly due to the fact that each hall has its own features and facilities.  Two halls of similar size might be very different in terms of the facilities available and it's quite right that the hire cost reflects this.  However, it is important to review your charges to ensure the running costs are being covered while not charging so much that potential hirers are put off. 

It is also sensible to charge non-local groups and, in particular, commercial hirers an increased rate.  This is because such hirings probably do not contribute to the fulfilment of your charitable purposes.  You can still take bookings of this nature but only as a way of bringing in more funds for the achievement of your charitable purposes.

Subscribers to CAH's Community Halls Advice Service can get more guidance on hire charges, marketing and other issues from Kevin Sawers, by email or on 01962 857358.

Residents were delighted in the houses which only be for rent to people on the Winchester City Council waiting list. The homes are built around grassy communal green providing a safe place for children to play. Dan Bray, one of the new residents, said: “It is brilliant, I love the place.” His partner Michelle Creese, whose mum and gran have lived in the village, said: “It is fantastic. We would not have been able to live in the village otherwise."

The scheme comprises two three-bedroom houses, three two-bedroom houses, one one-bedroom bungalow and four one-bedroom flats, housing about 30 people. The development even has a dormouse bridge to allow the animals to safely cross the new access road.

To read more please click on the following link.

Project 500 is a Hampshire Senate-led strategy to enable affordable rural housing on county council and other publicly owned land. Project 500 is working in partnership with the Hyde Group as part of the Hampshire Alliance for Rural Affordable Housing (HARAH).

Chris Buchan-Hepburn, head of new business and HARAH lead at Hyde, said: “I am very pleased with the development; it has kept the spirit of the station alive and helped local families to live in the village they think of as home.

For the full article please click on the following link.

The project to date has helped to enable more than 395 rural affordable homes to be built in 55 rural villages across Hampshire. A further 121 homes are funded and will be built over the next 2 years. In all, this has helped more than 1000 local people to stay or return to their communities.

Mags Wylie Senior Rural Housing Enabler said ‘It’s great to know that this project has helped to leave a lasting legacy in so many peoples’ lives. We and all our HARAH partners look forward to working together to help create more homes for local people over the next few years”

To view the full article please click on the following link.

If you have any comments about Reaching Communities, Awards for All, or indeed any of the Big Lottery Fund's programmes, please email Kevin Sawers or call him on 01962 857358.  How did you find the application process?  Have you been along to any of their information sessions?  What would make you more likely to apply for a Lottery grant?

Please let us have your comments by the end of Tuesday 4 November, ready for a meeting the following day.