New North Annexe

A great start to the week - the new foundations for the New North Annexe have been poured on this sunny Monday morning! Progress has been swift over the last couple of weeks. Demolition didn't take long - our builders lent on it and down it came! We were delighted to discover that the old annexe had very small footings which had been the cause of the movement and floor collapse. New trenches were dug last week, to a much deeper level in some very solid ground, and following approval from our engineer and Building Control, those trenches have now been filled with concrete foundations. The discovery of good solid ground conditions, removed the potential obligation to use piled foundations which would have incurred significant additional cost - a big relief all round, which also frees up contingency allowances for other parts of the project.  

Many thanks to Sam, Stewart & Paul for cracking on so quickly with the first part of the build.

Fundraising continues with the ‘Buy a Brick’ crowdfunding campaign, with a £50,000 target towards the electrics, plumbing, decoration, furniture, equipment and finishing touches needed to turn the building into a welcoming community space. For more details, or to ‘buy a brick’, go to www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/lvhnorthannexe

Lighthorne is celebrating the start of the ambitious project to build a new North Annexe. The plan is to demolish the failing 1960s North Annexe, added to the original structure a few years after the initial build, and replace it with a sound and modern community space.The new building will provide improved meeting and rehearsal facilities, changing areas, accessible toilets and much-needed storage.

An early start date has been made possible by a £100,000 grant from Stratford District Council, which will fund the initial demolition work and its replacement with the shell of a new annexe. On top of the SDC grant, the community in Lighthorne have already raised an impressive £34,000 since fundraising began 18 months ago, but we are still working hard to find more funds to complete the interior fit-out. Demolition is expected to take place in October with the hope of foundations and ground works finished by the end of the year, and the new shell completed by the end of March 2027.  

The start of building work was officially marked with a groundbreaking ceremony outside the Village Hall on Saturday September 19 when the committee turned a symbolic spadeful, as villagers and community representatives enjoyed a glass of fizz and a slice of cake. It was wonderful to see everyone gathered together to mark the start of work on a project which has been a long time in the making. We are incredibly grateful to Stratford-on-Avon District Council for its generous grant, to Lighthorne Parish Council for funding the new boiler, to The Antelope pub and our other major sponsors, fundraisers, volunteers and members of the community whose support has brought us to this point. This really is a community project, and we couldn’t have got here without them. Members of the village hall management committee and the Lighthorne community were joined at the groundbreaking ceremony by Emma Gurdag from Stratford-on-Avon District Council and local councillors Ann Parry and Liz Coles.

As fundraising continues, the committee has launched a ‘Buy a Brick’ crowdfunding campaign, with a £50,000 target towards the electrics, plumbing, decoration, furniture, equipment and finishing touches needed to turn the building into a welcoming community space. For more details, or to ‘buy a brick’, go to www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/lvhnorthannexe

The official groundbreaking ceremony outside Lighthorne Village Hall. L-R Liz Coles (SDC Councillor), Emma Gurdag (SDC), Ann Parry (SDC Councillor), Anna McGrath (LVHMC), Fiona Driver (LVHMC Chair), Piers Banfield (LVHMC Treasurer), Amanda Bond (LVHMC), Rob Sherrington (LVHMC), Anthony McGrath (LVHMC), Brian Lewis (Lighthorne Parish Council Chair)