The new Memorial Hall is now visibly nearing completion and already we can see how well the building fits in with village surroundings with its local Derbyshire limestone and European oak which will fade to a beautiful silvery grey.
Although all the money for the build has been raised, the last few weeks have seen a flurry of donations from both village user groups and individual villager residents, anxious to make their contribution. These are being used to provide trees for landscaping and also to renew things that will look rather tired in the new hall. The committee are hoping to have all new tables and chairs for the Oddfellows Lunch and so far have raised enough money for all the tables and sixty chairs. Another forty chairs are still needed so if anyone would like to make a contribution towards these it will be much appreciated.
Donations for the supply and tree planting have been received from:
Top Nosh
Pre-school Stepping Stones,
Tennis Club
Mother and Toddlers Group
A village resident.
Other generous donations have been received from:
The Horticultural Society,
Parwich Methodists
The Film Club
Parwich School,
BCB Coated Stone Ltd
Individual village residents.
PARWICH.ORG 
It is looking great and how good to hear of so many contributions from within our own community. I can’t wait to use it and to see the finished product – well done to all involved and well done for sticking at it!!
Last weekend Ben was kind enough to take me round the new hall. I came away stunned that our village is going to have such a wonderful facility. The thinking that has gone into the design is truly amazing and to tell the truth I felt a bit ashamed that I had not acknowledged the immense effort that has gone in to realise this project. We’ve been given something quite special for a village of our size and I can’t wait to start using it.
Not had the opportunity to have a look round yet but heard how good it is, can’t wait to use it with the toddler group. It will make such a difference to the children.
And it is going to be a major bonus for the school children. As well as somewhere for assemblies, plays, presentations, school fairs etc., the hall we be used on occasions as an extended classroom where the whole school can learn together and will of course play its most important role for the school as an up to the minute indoors sports facility. Between the tennis courts, the cricket pitch and the new hall, you’d be hard pushed to find a better equipped village school.
Parwich says “we can see how well the building fits in with village surroundings with its local Derbyshire limestone and European oak which will fade to a beautiful silvery grey.”
Its so good we can rely on parwich to tell us what to think. For myself, until I read this, I thought the new hall was an horrendous oversized monolith, much too tall and completely out of keeping with the conservation area. The planners said the building would be too big for the site and risked dominating the surrounding housing. They were right.
The planners said a hall designed to look like an agricultural building with add-on bits and a metal roof at different angles to the main roof was unsuited to the conservation area since it was unlike any other building in the village, which is not characterised by agricultural buildings. They were right.
With its large ventilating tower in the middle of the roof does it look like an intensive chicken rearing facility? And I fear that when the European oak “fades to a beautiful silvery grey”, it will do so unevenly because of the roof overhangs and look patchy and possibly dirty, like similar buildings elsewhere.
Better not talk about the huge car park, less than half the minimum size normally allowed by the Highways Agency for new village halls! Experience will educate us all on that score. Bring on the yellow lines…..
Oh, how grumpy I am! Ungrateful man! Personally, I think it is a disgrace and scandal that this building ever received planning permission, given the over 30 objections the planners made to this building.
Anyway, thanks, parwich, for putting me right, and I’ll try to be enthusiastic. And I’ll try to get the many other people in the village who agree with me but don’t stick their heads above the parapet to do the same. But after nine months of often very loud ‘all-day’ noise from diggers, cement mixers, cranes, dumper trucks, building material lorries, drilling rigs, scaffolding lorries, diesel electricity generators, concrete deliveries, circular saws, and more, I really can’t wait for this wonderful new building to be finished, so we can have some peace. Might be able to sit in the garden, then……
It really is quite a shockingly large building , and where will all the vistors park including disabled people when there is more than two of them ? for when the many events planed for this buliding start!
hmmm…. got a feeling my spell check stopped working.
Dare I say it but I was thinking how PRETTY our new hall looks and how WELL it fits in!! Just goes to show!
I know how hard many people have been working to make this hall a reality – I think an AMAZING project is on the verge of completion. Thank you.
For various reasons I have not been involved in the new hall thus far (too many other commitments, illhealth and insufficient energy to do anything more!) …however I was lucky enough recently to have a look inside the building – while taking sustenance to Martin who was helping install the film club kit. All I can say is I was amazed at such an extraordinary building — for those who have not yet had the chance to look round the building, please don’t judge it yet — give it a chance with an open mind and see what it has to offer.
The one overwhelming feeling I had was that the architects and builders have done their part of the job — (and of course all the people who have worked so hard over the past years getting it set up) …..AND NOW IT IS UP TO US. This is an extra-ordinary village with an amazing variety of skills and personalities — and the building made me feel that what it now needs is a great dollop of US – ie it needs to be used and lived in and needs to develop its own character from usage. Without that it remains an empty shell — so lets get in there and give it a character and a personality – and make it part of PARWICH.
Looking forward to meeting with you in our new hall. Jean x
Now the cabins have gone and the side bit has been added I don’t think that the new building looks out of place at all, it is quite in-keepig and suitable for a ‘village’ centre piece, although I admit that I was a bit worried at first. Obviously quite a few families have had to put up with the building works so we should all thank them for that – fairly inevitable unfortunately once the village vote went for something on that site, but ‘thanks’ due nonetheless. Thanks to to every-one who has obviously worked so hard – not quite sure who you ALL are, but there must be quite a few of you!
Finally, let us not forget in this age of austerity and environmental awareness, of rising obesity and cardiac problems, that it is a VILLAGE facility and that we should ALL WALK!!! (With the exception of people with disabilities etc, of course)
It looks great!!
And to the detractors…Each of us, to some degree, resists change. In any change situation, there is generally some resistance. It may appear as emotional sorrow or joy, a feeling of despair or helplessness, even feelings of incompetence or lack of direction. Resistance may appear as anger or unwillingness to try the new experience that we are called into.
Move on by:
1) Admitting that you are powerless over controlling the changes imposed upon you.
2) Identifying the things in your life that you can control and taking action accordingly.
3) Believing that through introspection and the support of others you can restore yourself to a sense of sanity about the situation and events.
4) Seeking to understand the origin of your fears, anger, and resentment about the changes being faced.
5) Developing plans to overcome the causes of resistance and build upon your strengths.
6) Looking for the positive benefits of embracing the change as opposed to dwelling on the negative implications.
7) Realising that the change is likely to (or has already) occur(ed) whether or not you embrace it.
8) Considering, when you can reflect on the experience, how you dealt with this specific event or experience and seek ways to learn from it. This will help you prepare for the next change, which is most likely right around the corner.
Hope this helps! Let’s move forward together….
How come virtually nobody is willing to put their name to their views? Not the ‘positive person’, nor ‘gobsmacked’, not the ‘village’ residents nor the amateur psychologist? Is it fear? Why do we have to share our view anonymously?
Because if one either states that one is pro village hall (for whatever reason) and positive about it, or urges a positive move forward and acceptance and reconciliation(see above), one is subject to abuse. QED.