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After a thorough and comprehensive tender process involving five separate building companies competing for the job, Wildgoose Construction Ltd have now been appointed as the contractors for the new Memorial Hall. One of the reasons that this company was selected – in addition to them presenting the lowest price – was their previous experience of working locally and collaborating directly with the Peak District National Park Authority. They demonstrated sensitivity to the demands of working in a village such as ours, and understood the need to keep disruption to a minimum.
Wildgoose has shown a willingness to work closely with the committee and the existing donors and local business who are offering free of charge, or at cost building materials. This ensures that we get best value for money, while keeping the overall cost as low as possible.
We have all been aware of the difficulties created by the recent economic climate. However, every cloud has a silver lining. For us this means building costs have reduced dramatically over recent months, enabling the current estimate to be in the region of £730,000. It is hoped that this figure can be further reduced when the detail of all materials that can be supplied free of charge is known. This can then be further subtracted from the costs.
The revised figure not only reflects reduced costs of building, but also the professional fees for the consultants and design team. Their support has been instrumental in achieving the building cost reductions. Since professional fees were originally included in the fundraising figures as “in kind” contributions, we have now reduced this accordingly. Consequently, the funding gap is now in the region of £40,000 to £60,000, depending on how subsequent costs come down as prices become clearer with time. This is good news because there are applications already submitted (and some with a good chance of success) for grants totalling over £90,000.
The build can now start as soon as all the necessary contractual paperwork has been finalised. Our current expectations are that this paperwork will be completed by mid September.
PARWICH.ORG 
Why has the thermometer for the Memorial Hall funding Raising vanished. It stood at £791,000 and was a sign of achievement and progress, Does it mean all the cash has now been raised and we need find no more?
Well spotted fell runner– a fair and reasonable question to ask, and unfortunately not quite as easy to answer. The thermometer has been removed from the weblog because the target figure and the amount raised have both been reduced, and it is no longer an accurate reflection of either. On the face of it, reducing the amounts does look a little strange – but as the newsletter explains, that’s due in part to donations “in kind” either having brought the costs down, or having their estimated values reduced in the light of current economic circumstances. The thermometer was useful as a focus point and a qualitative guide to our progress, but it inevitably produced a somewhat over-simplified version of a reality that was always more complex.
A more detailed explanation exists, but it requires time spent studying various spreadsheets, costs and tables. If anyone would like to do this for further clarification, please feel free to ring me on 344, and we will try to oblige.
The simple message is that, yes, we have raised enough funds to build the new hall (and therefore to satisfy all of our funding bodies that we can start the build), but we cannot let up on our fund raising for the moment if we want, for example, new chairs, staging, a high spec kitchen , blackout blinds etc. and as we all know, anything to do with building is a dynamic situation until it is all finally built and paid for.
Having said that, all in Parwich should be very proud of their achievement. We shall get our new hall, and it will be fantastic!
hi amanda,
just wondering where are the tables and chairs going to be stored while the hall is being built? I usually borrow some (and give a donation to the memorial hall, of course!) over christmas and new year.
thanks,
debs
Deb, Janet G will have most of the chairs and a few tables and Val K will have the rest of the tables.
Give them a ring, I’m sure there’ll be no problem.
A.
It is good to read the August update on the Memorial Hall although it seemed to vanish quickly from the top of the blog so few may have read it. The team have done a great job, started what seems an age ago by visionary people such as Peter Trewhitt, Lynnete Coyne, Amanda Johnstone, Mr Gerrard-Pearce and others.
And in two weeks time, building work may begin.
It might be the right time to update the villages with some firm information. What will the new hall look like following the change in architects? What are we now getting? Has anything been changed or cut out? Could we have some pictures or artists’ impressions?
And if it was to cost £860,000 and is now costing £730,000, why do we need to raise more money, surely there is enough raised for the interior fit out . And if the memorial hall committee plans to borrow, will that have to be secured on the site or who will give guarantees? Does that fall on the village?
A greater flow of information to the village might engender some excitement
Fell Runner drew attention to the loss of the fundraising thermometer but there has been no subsequent information about where we are at with this project now that work is about to start.
Why are we not being told something about the new memorial hall in terms of what it will be like. I asked on this site if there were any pictures of the scheme as proposed by the new architects. And what will the inside be like? Will there be a stage? Is there still a separate meeting room. And how green is the building? Trees will come down so what replacement landing is proposed?
There are great gaps in what the village(s) have been told about the new hall. It’s as if we have been asked to contribute money to something that is only a haze.
If the thermometer was at £791,000, why do we need to raise more money?. Is it right the completed scheme is now costing £730,000? If so what has come out of the scheme shown to the village to brining it down? And why is it necessary to borrow on the project, who from, and who secures or guarantees the borrowed money. Is it the village?
And it does seem as though our societies are being mucked about. The vegetable show was cancelled which seems odd when there was, at short notice, a party on Saturday. So it could have taken place.
Will the fills take place in the church, or are they cancelled?
We do need more certainty instead of so much left in limbo.
This is a very silly and very mischievous comment.
As far as I can see, the answers to these questions are all in the public domain (countless letters, posters, minutes, – even this weblog and site), and so we can have our overstretched, overworked and unpaid volunteers either doing the job on behalf of the village, or pandering to a small, vociferous, articulate and disruptive minority (the number of which can be counted on one hand) who demand more and more information – all of which they have access to if they were really interested in finding out.
As I am sure the commenter is aware (because everyone else is!), we have planning permission for a hall which the village has seen and can see on this web-site and other places.
The volunteers have spent hours and hours and a lot of money trying to keep everyone informed. I guess the commenter would rather imply a covert effort to keep the village in the dark, so it distracts them all at a critical time and adds to the ridiculous amount of work required to get this project competed. Thus a last ditch attempt to hijack democracy, and have their way.
The finances have been explained, and as far as I know there is an open offer for anyone who wants to get into the apparently complex nitty gritty to spend time to go through all the spreadsheets and costings if they so wish.
Society’s have certainly not been mucked about. The Horticultural society decided themselves to cancel this year, and a great deal of time and effort has been spent trying to accommodate all the users over the build period, and to keep the disruption to the village at a minimum. Only yesterday did I read a letter from the construction company inviting everyone to a meeting, and going into great detail about how they plan to keep disruption to the village at a minimum – when was the last time you ever saw such an attempt to accommodate people on any kind of construction project???.
I know all this, not because I have any “inside” information, but because I read the information that is constantly put out by the committee, and if anything is unclear (and very little is), I ask one of them.
So come on “over the hill” whoever or wherever you are, stop trying to misrepresent the real situation and stir up apparent unrest. Thanks to the incredible and selfless work of the Committe and others, this hall will be built. It will be built for the people who use it, and for generations to come who will be grateful for it.
My view is we who sit on the side (and I am one) should be very grateful to everyone who is dedicating so much time, effort and resource to a worthy and needed replacement public building in our village instead of constantly implying a ridiculous machiavellian conspiracy.
If you check the parwich fim pages you will see that we hope to start film showings in October in the Church. More details will appear on the Blog when available.
Parwich & District Horticultural Society invites the Show judges in the early Spring, and notifies the Dahlia and Chrysanthemum growers from outside the Village in early summer.
So the Committee had to decide about the Main Horticultural Show long before a final date for the demolition of the old Hall was confirmed.
“Bob” is rather disingenuous with his comment, because it reinforces the impression that nobody can raise any pertinent questions about the new hall without being pilloried as a dissenter, a disruptive and definitely an anti.
There are many people in the village who are confused as to what is actually happening, as the information put out in the newsletters is a masterpiece of information control and begs many more questions than answers.
Over The Hill has raised several issues which have not been adequately explained to the rank and file village either in newsletters, the blog or Memorial Hall minutes. Whilst everybody is in no doubt of the amount of work that has had to be put into the new hall to get to this stage, rather than being constantly reminded of the fact as an excuse/diversion, it would be nice if the questions were actually answered.
So please answer or at least point out, where the information has been put in the public domain.
Over The Hill’s questions are:-
“Why are we not being told something about the new memorial hall in terms of what it will be like. I asked on this site if there were any pictures of the scheme as proposed by the new architects. And what will the inside be like? Will there be a stage? Is there still a separate meeting room. And how green is the building? Trees will come down so what replacement landing (landscaping?) is proposed?”
“If the thermometer was at £791,000, why do we need to raise more money?. Is it right the completed scheme is now costing £730,000? If so what has come out of the scheme shown to the village to brining it down? And why is it necessary to borrow on the project, who from, and who secures or guarantees the borrowed money. Is it the village?
Concerned but definitely not anti the new Memorial Hall!
Although I am not on the committee, I have been actively involved in helping to raise funds for the new hall. I therefore know how demanding, and draining the process is, particularly when we all have full time jobs at the same time.
I know for a fact that most of the volunteers on this project are working to the limit of their “bandwidth”. It is a common phenomenon in any organisation that communications can always be improved, and in this case the difficulty is compounded by that fact that everyone is a volunteer.
Although I have no authority, I will therefore volunteer to help as much as I can.
I know for a fact that the external plans have not altered from those shown on the static pages of the memorial hall website:
http://www.parwichmemorialhall.org/proposed_plans.htm
These are the plans that have received planning permission and are therefore the plans that govern the build. I was not able to attend the Wildgoose meeting this week, but it appears that all efforts are being made to make the process as transparent as possible. There will be a stage, which can double up as tables and can also be stacked into the smallest possible space, thus allowing for maximal flexibility of use. There will be a separate meeting room as on the original plans.
With regard to the sustainability measures, I personally applied for and raised the funds for the ground source heat pump and solar panels which were part of the original plan to ensure that the new building has a minimal carbon footprint. Although trees will come down, the landscaping plan includes the use of mature trees.
With regard to changes to funding, I hope my observations will help. During the process of fund raising, I have learned that there are no static targets. This is more noticeable in times of recession. Both costs and pledges (particularly in kind pledges) change dramatically with time, and as far as I can see, this has certainly applied to the project. A proportion of the funding is in kind, so naturally the notional amount raised will change. Additionally, due to the efforts of the committee, the costs have also been significantly reduced.
No doubt these numbers will continue to change throughout the build process (just look at the TV program Grand Designs to see this in action). The important point is that the numbers balance, enabling the work to commence. Due to the dynamic nature of the costs, I gather it was no longer deemed appropriate to represent this as a thermometer. However, Amanda has stated that anyone is welcome to view the figures on the spreadsheets if they so wish.
What I see is a group of very committed, hardworking individuals who are doing everything they can to help the village. Communications may not be everyone’s expertise. If there are failures in this area, it is not due to commitment or devious motives, it is purely due to overwork. So, on behalf of the committee, of which I am not a member, if there are people out there who are willing and able to help, please let the committee know. I am sure it will be appreciated by all concerned.
So Bob is the hard man and KevinS is summoned to pour oil on troubled waters. The pair appear apologists for lack of information. Is it any wonder that misinformation and rumour thrive?
The new village hall is being paid for largely with public money. Three villages have given time and money. We should be entitled to some simple answers. It is a matter of transparency.
So why the reticence?
Again, what is the cost of the new Memorial Hall?
How much has been raised?
Why is it necessary to borrow when the thermometer indicated £791,000 had been found? The summer newsletter indicated only a further £86,000 was needed to hit the £860,000 target. Now we are told the hall is costing £730,000.
What has been chopped from the scheme to bring the costs down?
Which “sponsors” have back down?
What is the true picture?
This is our hall. Public money is being used. There has to be transparency and accountability and there appears to be neither.
To suggest all this information is on the website as Bob does is a nonsense. Why does Bob create such a song and dance?
‘over the hill’ and ‘concerned but not anti’, if you feel communication is not working, wouldn’t the constructive thing be to volunteer to help rather than castigating people that have worked very hard to get us where we are, and are still putting in long hours to keep the project on target.
The Memorial Hall officers will be the first to admit that they have not always got everything exactly right, but it should be remembered they are volunteers, most undertaking this on top of full time work and family commitments. Moreover the goal is not to engage in a perfect process, but to build a new Hall within the constraints of the 2004 community vote, which is currently what is happening.
I took on doing the Memorial Hall web pages (see http://www.parwichmemorialhall.org/index.htm) nearly two years ago, but partly because of my health I have failed to update them over the last year. I must admit another factor in these pages not having been up dated has been my not wanting to have to deal with the unnecessary conflict that has grown up around this project. Some conflict is inevitable and valuable, but our community has been damaged by aspects of the conflict around this project, and we should all be looking at how we can repair the situation. The wedding reception last Saturday evening at Fenny Bentley was for me a timely reminder that we do have a fantastic community which does work very well when it comes together.
The Memorial Hall web pages unlike the Blog are designed in a traditional web format and there are fewer people able to update them. However if someone will type up information, I am happy to convert it to html format and use it to update the pages. The current officers have been and still are working very hard on the keeping the project going. Rather than seeking to add to their workload more volunteers are needed.
Gathering and typing up the following would greatly help me and the project, and incidentally ensure the answers to your questions are unambiguously in the public domain:
1. Details of how to contact the relevant people for alternative venues during closure, including Parwich Church (Martin Compton, Church Warden), the Cricket Pavilion (Karen Wigley, Parwich Parish Council Clerk), the Parwich Royal British Legion Club, The Sycamore Inn (tel 01335 390 212), Biggin Village Hall, Bradbourne Church Hall, Tissington Village Hall (and any other relevant venues).
2. A list of the dates of Memorial Hall Management Committee meeting minutes not yet on the site, so I can organise the minutes I have in electronic form. The best place to start is the file of minutes in the Sycamore Inn.
3. A list of grants, donations, sponsorship and in kind contributions. A lot of the information is on the Blog, but you would need to ask the Treasurer (Ed Linnell) to confirm this and ensure nothing is missing. At present it is probably not possible to attach values to the in kind contributions (from Tarmac, Longcliffe, Bennetts, etc) as they are being reassessed.
4. Also a summary of the current management of the project would be very useful; you can gain this information from the officers and Jane Harris.
5. It is important we continue to celebrate the work that went into building and maintaining the old Memorial Hall. Gathering photographs and people’s memories would greatly enhance the web pages.
6. Also we should not lose sight of the Memorial aspect of the Hall and the History Society would welcome all the information you can gather on those local people who died or fought during the two World Wars, especially anything on any from Alsop, Pikehall or Ballidon that may not be included on the Parwich War Memorial.
This information can be emailed to me via parwich@hotmail.co.uk.
Also if either of you is a member of the History Society, given your interest in the project, have you thought about putting yourself forward to be the Society’s representative on the Memorial Hall Management Committee as the Society is still looking for a volunteer for this post.
For the record, I was not “summoned” to write my last comment. I wrote it entirely off my own bat by way of trying to offer some help to the overworked (and under supported) committee and to those who have expressed questions about the current status of the rebuild. To suggest that I am an apologist for misinformation is untrue and hurtful.
Having had my motives impugned, I was strongly inclined to leave no further comments on this issue. However, on reflection, I feel that the accusations are unfair and cannot be left unanswered.
It has repeatedly been stated that the costs and funds are changing continuously. Over The Hill asks for simple answers. A simplified explanation of the funding situation was provided in the original newsletter. If anyone wants a more detailed breakdown, Amanda has offered to provide this by talking them through the spreadsheets. Where is the lack of transparency in that? Incidentally, no one to date has taken up this offer. I will leave you to draw your own conclusions there.
Transparency and public accountability are essential to the likes of the Big Lottery Fund, who are the project’s major source of funds – and they have been satisfied with all processes to date. It is therefore ironic that the committee should be fielding criticism in this area from those who choose to operate behind the protection of a pseudonym, thus holding themselves accountable to no one but themselves.
That said, and since my role appears to be to pour oil…… I would like to share one observation with you which might help explain the complexity. The funding comes from a mix of donations from trusts, grants and in kind contributions. Donations from trusts tend to be fixed sums of money. Grants can either be in the form of a fixed sum, or paid as a percentage of the final costs (and often need to be confirmed by presentation of an invoice to the granting body). It is therefore very difficult to give a precise value to some grants. The important point is that the grant provides the funds for the completion of a specific part of the project. Valuation of in kind contributions also changes with the economic climate.
Moving the project to “Design and Build” has given the committee the opportunity to control costs more effectively, thereby helping to bringing down the total cost of the project. By extension, this will also be reflected in changes to the valuation of some grants and in kind contributions (please note that I am only reiterating what was written in the newsletter).
It is not a case of “chopping”, more of judicious use of competitive tender at a time when construction firms need the work. As far as I’m aware, no sponsors have backed down as Over The Hill suggests.
Over The Hill comments that public funds are being used to build the new Memorial Hall, but appears to imply that these funds are being irresponsibly managed. I find this a very strange stance to take – the committee has managed to make significant cost reductions whilst still being able to build the hall. By extension, this is reducing the requirement for public funds. This sounds entirely responsible to me.
It is of course everyone’s hall. Wouldn’t it be better if more people came forward to help rather than to launch attacks from the sidelines?
Now, I’m off to write another grant application.
This comment has been removed as no valid email was supplied. Please refer to our commenting guidelines at https://parwich.org/2008/08/14/admin-commenting-guidelines/
Perhaps with one less pint it would all make sense.
Dear All,
I am sorry that my question has led to what is now a bitter exchange.
I did not intend that. I just was wondering about the removal of the thermometer. That was all.
What is obvious, is that there are people out there with questions and real problems with the new hall. I am not taking any sides, i am just stating a fact. People in the village feel excluded.
I am a relative newcomer to the village, and i want my young(ish) children to experience a true village spirit, not how it is now: politically charged. We are nothing more than a collection of houses in the hills, and it shouldn’t be this way.
I am hoping that the memorial hall committee will take the first step and try and stop this ‘bat and ball’ name calling. Again, i am not taking any sides, but it is the hall that has created such a wide chasm in the village, so they should lead the way in sorting it out. People obviously have issues out there that need resolving, so please, committee, for the good of the village, reach over. Even if it is just a matter of reasurance or stating the obvious; do it in a gentle way. Sarcastic diatribes win you no friends, and make the suspicious even more so.
Parwich and the surrounds are never going to be some perfect utopia, i am not suggesting that they should; people wil always have issues from time to time, but we should not have to hide behind fake names on internet blogs just to get our view across. when that happens, we know there are serious problems.
Thanks
This is the most sensible letter yet to be written on the blog, the village new village hall has really upset the majority of the older village people, the tradesmen in village helped to build the old memorial hall and it was a very sad day to see it taken down when it really needed just modernising, i.e. toilets and kitchen. I know that things sometimes have to change but this is an awful lot of money to be spent on a hall that did not need replacing, I have lived in this village all my life and have never known anything to upset the village as this project has.
Please be aware that I am not ´Over the Hill´since I have always used my full name, but I do feel he has addressed some issues that needed clarifying for everyone rather more effectively than could be done by people going individually to Amanda and asking to ´have a look´. People not on the net wouldn´t even know she´d made the offer, and may well have the same questions that ´Over the Hill raised. I´m sorry many folk feel unable to speak their minds or feel the need to hide behind a nom-de-plume. It reflects an unhealthy situation in the village.
I agree with Barbara that this project has upset many people and seems not to have gained the widespread community support that might be expected. The previous hall project had real local cooperation, presumably because a new hall was really needed. Interestingly several of the men working on moving the substation, having taken a look at the former hall, asked what waswrong with the hall – why it needed to be knocked down since it seemed to be a good size, in sound condition and good repair. So I told them it needed a new toilet.
We all heard about the conflict. Just go to legion. Thats why no one want to volunteer. Might get thrown off as well. Its a real shame what has happened to our village.
Whether you agree or disagree with the building of a new hall; I feel sad that there is such a lot of animosity being thrown at the many volunteers who have worked very hard, and given freely of their time and talents, on this project.
The decision to have a new hall built was a majority decision taken by the residents of our village in a democratic vote. So everyone who voted for a new hall is responsible for the decision, not just the people who make up the committee. Therefore, it really isn’t fair to target this small group of people specifically.
I’m not on the committee myself; nor have I been involved in any fund raising ventures. (I say this just so readers know I don’t have a personal stake in this.) I just felt I had to say something.
Debbie
Well said Debbie. Even if people don’t agree with the decision – wouldn’t it be nice to just accept it and enjoy the finished product. The scheme was decided democratically which by nature of that fact means that not everybody will get the decision they wanted. Everybody is entitled to have an opinion and it would be a very poor state of affairs if this was repressed, but that thankfully has never been the case and debates have continued. The sad thing is where it starts to get personal and causes offence. Please let us try to unite behind this project, which has only been achieved through the hard work and effort of a dedicated and hard working group of people.
It is heartening to see some more supportive comments for the building of the new memorial hall and for the hard working committee, emerging on the blog. We are in a period of limbo at the moment as we are unable to envisage what is going to replace the original memorial hall, a place that obviously holds strong memories for so many, so there is a big void at the moment. But let’s give it time, let the dust settle and wait to see what emerges.
I have great confidence that the new memorial hall will be a place where new memories will be built, a hall which we shall all use well, with pride and will strengthen our feeling of affection for this most beautiful village that we live in and for the community that we are lucky enough to be part of.
Caroline
As someone who voted enthusiastically in favour of the rebuild, and who has only been in Parwich for nine short years, I was still saddened to see the old hall being demolished – more than I expected to be, if truth be told. I’m very much aware that the old hall played a central part in many people’s lives, over many years and decades, and that it was a place that held many powerful personal memories. So I can only imagine the stronger feelings of sadness and upset for those who have lived in Parwich for longer than I have, and particularly for those who were never convinced by the arguments for a rebuild.
None of this alters my belief that the new hall will be a wonderful new asset for the village – but maybe now is not the time to revive all the old pro/anti arguments. Everyone has heard the arguments, from both sides, many times over, and everyone is fully entitled to their opinion. Yes, of course we must abide by the democratic majority decision, and I don’t think anyone would seriously suggest otherwise – but I also think that at this particular time, with the old hall gone and nothing but a building site and the promise of a new building in its place, that those of us in favour of the rebuild (who, after all, have got their own way) should be sensitive to the feelings of others who feel differently.
Equally, I still don’t think that enough people appreciate the pressure that the committee are working under, and the quite staggering amount of time and energy that they are devoting to the project, even sometimes to the detriment of their professional and family lives. If you’re not hearing much from them, then that’s because they – quite literally – only have time to attend to the top priority tasks: of running the building and design project, and securing the now quite small, but still vital, amount of extra funding that’s needed. It’s a massive pressure to work under, and I can well imagine something of a “siege mentality” kicking in at times, such that even the most innocent of questions start to feel like digs (because, let’s be honest, plenty of subtle and not-so-subtle digs have been made at their competence and integrity). I know that I couldn’t do it, while continuing to hold onto my sanity, and so I have nothing but respect for their commitment and dedication.
Sure, communication is not all it could be. With complex projects such as this, perhaps it never is. But the project is also being run under heavy scrutiny not just from within the village, but also from many outside funding bodies – and those funding bodies HAVE to be satisfied with every stage of the process. That’s a massively time-consuming exercise in its own right (you should see the paperwork), and it doesn’t leave much time for getting the facts – few of which can ever be summed up in a few short sentences – across to everyone else. The August newsletter was an attempt to address this situation: NOT to pull the wool over people’s eyes and to spread “misinformation”, but to give a simple, concise summary of the state of play.
With all of this in mind, I don’t feel that harshly worded anonymous comments on this blog – from either side of the argument – do anything much to re-establish a sense of community spirit at such a sensitive time. If you comment under a pseudonym that nobody can guess, that means we can’t put a face to you. And if we can’t put a face to you, then somehow – and perhaps without meaning to – we tend to think of you less as a human individual, with human feelings and emotions, and more as some sort of cartoon character. So we end up trading sarcastic comments, and expressing ourselves in ways that we would never dream of doing face-to-face. Equally, an anonymous commenter can say things in a way that he or she would never dare to say in person – and that’s a freedom that’s also open to be misused.
So, at the risk of sounding horribly pious and preachy, I really would like to ask everyone, from all sides – if we must talk of “sides”, and of “pros” and “antis” rather than fully rounded human beings – to debate the issues respectfully, and to try and appreciate that just because someone else holds a different point of view from yours, that doesn’t make them any less worthy of your respect.
Having resisted so far I have now decided that as a long standing committee member (18 years and counting!) it is time I had my say.
When we first started talking about refurbishment/extension/new build over ten years ago I was one of those on the committee who agreed that it would be at least cost to the village if we went for a new hall. Having researched the costs involved to extend we were told that we would be more eligible for larger grants for a new build and it would actually be difficult to get funds for an extension.At that time as a small committee this seemed an enormous task.Some fund raising was started but after a while things fell by the wayside.At a later date when interest in the memorial hall was rekindled we found that there were quite a few people out there who were willing to take on different roles and help towards raising funds.I felt quite excited at the thought that what had been started a few years back may actually come to fruition.
I looked back fondly on the times when I had been involved,as a child,in fundraising for the present hall and naively I now realise, thought that this was how it would be again. It soon became obvious that not everyone was happy with the result of a democratic vote.I can understand and accept this,we are of course entitled to our own views and as the saying goes “you can’t please all of the people all of the time”!
However the thing that really hurts and upsets me is the fact that in this village where I grew up there are obviously people who somehow think that they have the right to make hurtful and unsubstantiated claims on a public blog against us, the memorial hall committee, who are just a bunch of ordinary people trying to do their best for the village we all live in. We set out to be completely transparent about our actions in this project and have sent out lots of posters and detailed minutes. Contrary to rumour no one has been “thrown off” either, but then of course, fiction is often more interesting than fact!
Although I wholly support the blog and think it is an excellent way for us to advertise our village and events I do think it is being used by a small minority to create discord. Maybe it is time to review the rules about pseudonyms, so that no one can hide behind silly names, After all if you feel strongly enough to write it down then you should be able to put your name to it.
Now having got all that off my chest I would like to pick up on one of Peters points and share some memories of the old hall. Please see my next post.
Dear All
I thought I would just share some views regarding the use of pseudonyms on this or any other blog, forum or social protest
I use a pseudonym because I feel it is the only way I can say how I feel, without worrying about who reads it. I feel that I can say what I think, and not worry about what people will say when I bump into them in the pub. I just want to have a voice, and not be put n a ‘this’ or ‘that’ camp if I do, something that would happen if I used my name.
There are others out there, and I have come across them recently, who will not use their name because they fear what will happen if they do. They fear that there might be some sort of ‘reprisal’. Now, I don’t have this fear, and I think that it may be a touch over the top to have it (this is Derbyshire not Harlem!) but, however daft I may think it, there are some who think it to be a very real possibility
I don’t like the idea of ‘banning’ opinions if they don’t conform to a certain criteria, there is something very un-British about it. I advise the committee and village to accept that there will be protest at times, and to allow it to be aired. Banning protest will only divert it, not end it.
I think it is great to have debate and conversation in equal measure. The blog/ committee should encourage it. It will then seem that all views are taken on board and heard, if not agreed with. Maybe there could also be some more opinion polls and so on for future matters, to really get the village involved.
Let the blog be more than a mouth piece for the committee, let it be a true talking shop for the village. It would be agreat asset to have, not many villages can claim to have such a vibrant exchange. (The blog is very well presented, and obviously alot of time goes ito it. Praise is most certainly due)
There are lots of people out there that really want to say something who as yet have not, and they are not political, they just want their say, but at the moment, they dare not, as it will only be met with an ‘official style’ rebuttal or threat of censure.
I am not some kind of spokesperson for any group, I just hear things and feel that I should pass them on on this site, so that we can get back to being a united village.
Thanks
It is some months since we had any official news of progress with the new Memorial Hall.
The last newsletter was nearly five months ago in August.
Could we be updated with progress?
.
Obvious questions that need to be answered are:
* what is the latest anticipated cost of the project?
* how much has been raised to date? Both financial and value of ‘in-kind’ donations.
* what applications are still outstanding?
* how much is being borrowed to bridge any shortfall?
* what cuts in the original standard of project have been made?
* what will it look like inside?
* What is the scheduled completion date?
We look forward to a constructive response to the above.
I commend ‘Over The Hill’ for his/her plucky persistence in asking intelligent pertinent questions to which many in the village would like answers on this blog. But why does he/she expect any answer now when none was given last time, either in September or October? With regard to Over The Hill’s final question, the scheduled completion date, I guess we can assume bad weather will push it back to late Spring at the soonest. A promised March completion always seemed optimistic to me, given the late autumn start.
I espied a staunch supporter of the hall the other day looking through the barriers at the framework and saying it looks far too tall and will dominate the area (just like the planners said it would). So I checked the dimensions with the site office plans, and its not too tall by them, but I agree, it is too tall – because there is a storage room above the main hall.
Dear Committee
I urge you, in good faith, to answer some of the points raised by Over The Hill in their last post.
There is a considerable appetite in the village for an update on the hall.
A January newsletter, complete with a progress report and a full schedule of costs and incomes would keep all the village optimistic and hopeful about the new hall.
I am not siding with any view point, I just feel that transparency is essential when public funds and projects are concerned. And of course, there has not been a major issue in this regard ( minutes are available in the pub for all to see) However, a simple chart format of the updated financials would ease concerns that some people may hold.
It would also be great to know when the hall will be ready, and what it would like like inside. If only to become excited about, above all else.
Thank you for this blog. It has been a tremendous help to my family in these snowy times.
Thanks
Dear Committee Chairman
I urge you to update the village.
Several people are becoming very concerned at the lack of information for this public project.
A clear and detailed news letter is all that is required.
I am sure that once it is published, any concerns will dissipate.
Free flowing information is important in projects such as this. It ensures public buy-in and only acts to increase support and indeed, excitment for the finished product.
We are all looking forward to our new hall.
Thanks
Correction fell runner. We are not all looking forward to our new village hall. Some of us think it is an abomination that should never have happened and blame the Peak Park for its last minute volte face on the planning permission. However I commend your effort to get some information on this blog. The continued non-response to the entreaties from ‘over the hill’ and yourself suggest the committee prefers a low profile to keeping villagers informed. Would information inflame the situation or increase support, as you suggest? The committee seems unwilling to find out, and in any case its too late. What will happen will happen, regardless of mere village folk.
Memorial hall committee members please do not waste any of your time or memorial hall money on paper, envelopes and stamps to produce yet another newsletter.
I am not too lazy to go the shop and read the minutes or to ask a committee member if there is anything important I need to know.
Perhaps anyone who thinks a newsletter is needed can volunteer to put it together and deliver it to everyone in Parwich and the surrounding villages.
Would happyparwich like the new build in front of his/her home? I know I would not far to big for the piece of land it is on,amazed at Peak Park for allowing it. No one is asking for a newsletter to be sent to each home, just an update on the blog would do, No one is to lazy to go to the village shop, but if like me disabled somthing on the blog would suffice
Dear Happy Parwich / Committee
I think you are missing the point.
The idea of the newsletter is not to keep the village updated with gossip or local news, it is the chosen method of the committee to comunicate news and updates for this, public, project.
The committee has a duty, not just on a moral level, but on a formal level, as representatives of the hall, and more importantly, as guardians of public funds, to communicate regularly on the actuals of the project.
Clear updates on fundraising, spending and design should be issued.
I am asking for an updated news letter, as it was a ‘news letter’ that has been previously used.
We do not want to walk from house to house to collect the information, if, they disclose it.
Please print a clear chart detailing funds in and out, projected deficit, donors names and amounts and projected finish date.
If you are unable to provide sketches or impressions of the interior then please provide a web link to the Interior design firm that will be handling the interior, so that we can gauge what our hall will look by studying their portfolio.
If you are unable to publish the above on this site, then please print one, and put it on public display in the pub.
Trawling through minutes of past meetings is not what we want to do. We want clear information, in one bulletin ; A news letter.
I use this site to make requests for information on the hall, as it is the official portal for the Memorial Hall.
Dear Chairman
How should the village interpret this silence and apparant unwillingness to answer questions on the status of this project?
If you are not eager to give us the information we require, then please direct us to a body associated with this project that may be more willing.
Should we contact the builders or the Peak Park directly?
I urge you to disclose the current status of the project that includes financials, projected completion and interior plans along with the details of the interior design firm. This is simple information. A news letter will do.
I am not anti this project, I, like a majority of the village, would just like to be kept updated on a regular basis and in a formal, printed manner.
Please