Grant helps village hall weather the storm

A County Durham community venue has secured funding for essential building repairs to help safeguard its future use by local residents.

Bishopton Village Hall Association has used a £3100 grant from the Lambs Hill Wind Farm community benefits fund to repair significant water damage to the hall’s wooden structure.

The work formed part of the association’s ongoing refurbishment plans after investigations into problems with the building's guttering revealed severe deterioration to timber on the south-east side of the hall.

Had the issues been left unresolved, the damage could have threatened the long-term availability of the venue for community use.

The grant funded the removal and replacement of the affected timbers, with new UPVC cladding installed to help prevent similar problems occurring in future.

Bishopton Village Hall Association committee member Norman Melaney said: “As the only venue of its type in the area, the hall is absolutely central to life in the village and plays a crucial role in bringing people together in lots of different ways.

“A building of this type and age is always going to need a lot of maintenance to keep it in the best possible condition, and while we knew there were problems with this part of the structure, our inspection revealed that things were far worse than we’d expected.

“The extent of the damage meant that not only did the timbers need urgently replacing, but that if we didn’t do so, there was a real risk that we’d have had to close off the area of the hall that’s underneath them and so limit what the hall could offer to our users.

“The work we’ve been able to do has reinforced the structure and will stop any further water ingress, which means we can now start to look at the next stages of the building improvements that we want to carry out.

“Without the help that we’ve had over the years from the wind farm fund, it’s very likely that we wouldn’t have a village hall today and we’re hugely grateful for the continuing support that we’ve been able to access.”

The latest funding award builds on a series of previous grants from the Lambs Hill fund, which have supported improvements including a new heating system, energy-efficient lighting, additional insulation, upgrades to the building's frontage and the replacement of kitchen facilities.

Located on Church View, Bishopton Village Hall hosts a range of activities including fitness and yoga classes, Brownies meetings, Women’s Institute gatherings and council surgeries, while also serving as a venue for private events.

The community fund, linked to the Lambs Hill Wind Farm owned by renewable energy producer ERG and managed by Sunderland-headquartered OnPath Energy, distributes around £12,000 each year to local projects.

More than £100,000 has been invested through the Lambs Hill and nearby Moor House Wind Farm community funds in Bishopton projects over the last eight years.

Melissa Falconer, head of business development UK at ERG, added: “In acquiring Lambs Hill Wind Farm, ERG has embraced the responsibility of upholding all local planning obligations and community commitments, ensuring a seamless continuity of the values and community support established by the previous ownership.

“For ERG, being a responsible owner means protecting the community’s heritage: from safeguarding the future of the Village Hall to preserving the surrounding landscape, the Wind Farm’s benefits will continue to provide support to the social fabric and history of this area.”

Tom Chaplin, partnership and community manager at OnPath Energy, added: “These wind farms’ community benefits funds are designed to deliver long-term community value for the people living in the places surrounding them, with the positive impact they have had in Bishopton being a great example of how this can be done.

“The Village Hall Association is absolutely dedicated to ensuring this building remains available to the people of Bishopton and that it offers them the very best possible community facilities.”

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