The current Perran-ar-Worthal Memorial Village hall was built in 1971 and has been a remarkably successful space. It was well designed and has been enormously well used. But, coming up to 50 years old, the hall is of its time and is now showing its age.

The trustees of the hall have explored many ways of improving the existing structure, such as extra insulation, acoustic panels, better lighting etc., but none have been found to be feasible.

An energy efficiency survey in 2014 reported that not only did the building have the lowest possible energy efficiency rating, but even attempting to add substantial extra insulation would make very little difference to the hall’s overall energy performance; thermally speaking, it’s an inherently leaky building.

A structural survey conducted in 2018 concluded that, while the main structure was surprisingly sound and not actually rotting, the building had exceeded its expected life-span and would, in any case, be unable to bear the weight of any additional insulation or other improvements that would need to be hung on the structure.

Other problems have emerged over time. Acoustic insulation is extremely poor, with noise from one area disturbing activities in other areas. There is no effective way to reduce problems of noise pollution within the building. Acoustic curtains were tried in the west room, but produced only a modest improvement. The current heating system is inefficient and inadequate, and the lighting system is poor and inflexible. The sprung floor in the main hall is nearing the end of its useful life and is subject to frequent repairs. The stage is outmoded and inadequate for modern productions.

In additional, the Loyal Bee Care Company have tried to make the best of their premises, but ought to have better. The exterior of the building requires increasing maintenance as various materials age and expire. Even the drains are producing problems, with blockages, collapses and the recent discovery of an unwelcome reverse slope.

None of these problems is to denigrate the efforts of our predecessor trustees. When constructed in 1971, the new hall must have seemed like a palace. However, the trustees have had to face the problems fairly and squarely: should we invest considerable sums in refurbishment that we know would largely fail to resolve the problems and would represent poor value for money, or should we go for redevelopment to provide an energy-efficient and sustainable building for the next 50 years?

We chose redevelopment.

Extensive consultation has been carried out with regular users of the hall, key stakeholders, and the local community, as well as Age UK Cornwall. This consultation has led to the formulation of a design of a new village hall that would include a separate sports hall and arts hall. Built over three floors, the lower ground floor of this facility would be shared between Age UK Cornwall, running the Ruth Collins day centre, and the football club. This is an ideal match given the timings of their activities. The new hall will also include an office area for the Loyal Bee Care Company.

This new building will secure the future of what is a vital community faciilty used by all ages. The redevelopment of the village hall is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure that it continues to serve the parish of Perran-ar-Worthal for at least another 50 years, hopefully longer.

In order to achieve this, we need support to help raise funds to support the redevelopment of the hall. From a simple donation, to holding your own fundraising event, or attending others, every bit of support helps.