History

ST. JOHN’S HALL, MEADOWFIELD REBUILD updated 15th April 2019 2019 10th April – Nearly finished! The lights came on tonight when we were there and look lovely. Getting the keys really soon so if anyone wants to hire it please get in touch. Once it is ours I will take pictures of the inside with chairs/tables set out so you can see different set ups and the different rooms. For those who have booked parties\activities I will be contacting you if you to come down for a look over the Easter weekend 23rd March 2019 Burial of time capsule at St John’s Hall 23rd March 11.00am 16th February The completion date of St John’s Hall has been set back a number of weeks. This is due to a delay in the installation of the gas and electric supply. The date of St John’s Church Spring Fayre, due to have been on April 13th in the new hall, has thus been postponed. A new date is being sought, most likely to be some time in May 7th February Just to let people know they will be a slight delay on the build due to the utilities not been connected as soon as we wanted. It will be April now for the handover. I had a quick visit at lunchtime to see the new sign outside so got a look inside. We also have a path. I need to arrange for the time capsule to be engraved and a special paving stone made. Then will have the burying ceremony. Thanks to everyone who showed an interest to be a trustee and be part of the management committee. We hope to have new committee to be up and running before the building is finished. Volunteers are still needed to help run the building so even if you can spare an hour a week it will be a big help. I’m hoping to get deliveries ordered to come over the Easter break when I’m off work. 2nd February 2019 LATEST HALL NEWS Lesley wrote to the Catherine Cookson trust to thank them for the £500 for the Hall which they sent in 2015 and that the Hall was now ready for a March finish and that we are now raising money for equipment. Yesterday, Lesley came in to find a cheque for another £500! ~~~~~~~~~ That makes £220,500 raised from grants and with over £25,000 raised by the community that’s almost quarter of a million pound raised above the insurance settlement. Thank you everyone who has organised and came to the fundraising events over the last few years. It’s a massive achievement to raise so much with no help from the big funders like the lottery. Next fundraiser is this Friday at the British Legion Club, only £3 a ticket for a night of rock and roll and raffle ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 18th January 2019 Had a visit at lunchtime and it’s looking great 15th January 2019 Jan Shoulder has organised another Rock and Roll night for Friday 1st February from 7pm at Meadowfield British Legion. As well as a night of Dancing there is also a raffle, any donations gratefully received. All proceeds to equipment. Tickets are £3 and available from the Legion, Jan Shoulder or message the page with contact details . This is the 4th Rock and Roll night and are always well attended so get your tickets quick. Big thanks to the legion for supporting the rebuild by having fundraisers. 9th January 2019 Building work is on track for a March finish. All the brickwork is complete and a special stone with St. John’s Hall 2019 will be going up soon at the front. The kitchen is chosen and the toilets/hand basins are next to be ordered. There will be an automatic door at the front. We are having brick plaques at the back wall and details of how to purchase one will be explained in a future weekly notice sheet. The cost will be £25 so some surplus will go towards the build. Fencing will be getting priced up and landscaping at the back needs quoting for. Shoppers at the Co-op can choose the hall as their chosen charity. It runs until October 2019 and will go towards equipment. Updates are on Facebook page stjohnshallmeadowfield ******************************************* 30th December 2018 As well as volunteers to help run the building we require at 5 more trustees to form the management team with the current 3. If anyone is interested please message me. Will be busy setting up all the polices but once they are done I would hope it would only involve a monthly meeting and maybe tasks to do in between. This is from the business plan on what a trustee does- One of the key reasons for forming a CIO is to enable local people and those benefiting from the centre to take an active role in its management: – Decide the priorities for funding in the Hall – Be responsible for reporting decisions back to the local community – Safeguard funds received by being transparent, namely publishing decisions via the web, and regularly updating – Ensure that a range of views from local people are taken into account when making decisions – Set priorities for grant making within the Management Committee – Monitor, and regularly review and refresh the Business Plan – Commit themselves to working with Local Authorities and other partners to improve the services, events and activities for the local area – Promote their activities to encourage membership and use of the hall. – Ensure that the hall is operated within its means and manage the hall’s financial affairs and regulatory reporting systems – Ensure the hall is available to any group that would like to use it at affordable rates – Make every effort to make the hall available for community use at all times – Keep the hall well maintained, in good decorative order, fully equipped and as an attractive venue – Provide a focal point for local affairs and take a lead on arranging regular events to bring the local community together and develop use of the hall lesleypb@aol.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 23rd December 2018 Three months today we should get the keys! Any ideas for you want inside or outside please message or make a comment. Thanks to suggestions so far we are now getting external electric sockets and an outside tap ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 30th November 2018 Had to drop something off at the hall this morning and saw the new windows and had a quick look round inside      22nd November 2018 Had a good look round this morning seeing where the plug sockets are going. Took measurements of the “stage area” . Now looking for a portable one and a grant to pay for it 14th November 2018 – it’s getting there 17th October 2018 I need your help! I’m applying for a big lottery grant for equipment and some activities and the open day. We carried out some questionnaires and public consultation in 2015 but need to do another one to be more up to date. I am to redo a questionnaire which can be given out to groups and emailed. Please comment on what you want the hall to be used for for some ideas and thoughts . Thanks , Lesley ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  19th October 2018 Tonight I received a cheque for £10,000 from Brandon and Byshottles parish council’s chair David Clegg. It was pledged a couple of years ago from their community fund account by John Turnbull and Paul Taylor. Back again on Tuesday to pick up another cheque from last year’s chair Susan Nelson who choose the hall as one of her chosen charities. Big Thanks to the parish council for their continued support for the new hall ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 16th October 2018 6th October 2018 2nd October – outside brickwork sample The hall has a floor – 16th September 2018 For clarification on the land and lease The legal issue with ownership of the land has gone on for years and has cost a lot of money in solicitor fees and adverts in national newspapers. The new community hall will be managed by the charity St. John’s hall Meadowfield 1165657 and the church has no financial responsibility like they did with the old hall. The diocese of Durham and the church are on the lease because the only legal document is from 1949. T the original lease was between the Boyne estates, diocese board of finance and St. John’s PCC, it has a condition that if the hall was not used for religious purposes it reverted back to the owner(the Boyne estates) When the insurance condemned the building in 2012 this reverter should have come in effect . Once the fire happened we needed to have a new lease to get funding and to be able to build. which is when the lengthy and expensive Legal issues went on. The Boyne estates thought they owned it but after a year between solicitors it was found out that the Boyne Estates had gone bankrupt years ago and the hall site was not transferred to the liquidators. An advert had to be placed in two national and one local paper for a month to find out if anyone had an interest in the land. No one came forward. Eventually after a lot of input from the charity commission which took a while a 30 year lease from July 2018 is in place between the board of finance ( the legal custodians ) St. John’s PCC and the charity St. John’s hall Meadowfield. There are conditions in the lease that the church can use the hall for free for certain religious days and one other day a week(with prior notice) At the end of the 30 years the church may decide to take over the hall but I hope the then management committee will continue it as a community hall. ( I will be in my late 70’s so hopefully around to see what happens!) The constitution states that the priest in charge must be a trustee for as long as they are the parish priest. Also one trustee must be a member of the PCC. The other trustees will be people from the community. We need another five and lots of volunteers. There is to be a recruitment drive in the next few months so we can be ready for the building to be opened in April/May next year. Equipment needs to be funded and ordered and the kitchen and office needs fitting out. It will be a busy time but hopefully volunteers will get satisfaction knowing that they are helping in a great community project. Lesley Baxter ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6th September 2018 21st August – Update on the path in front of the Hall, DCC highways inspectors have now been out and will be dealing with it. It has nothing to do the hall work. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 18th August 2018– Today a couple of trees are coming down and another on Monday. We had a tree survey done a while ago on the whole site including the church and there are a number of dead trees and burnt ones . Dcc have been out and none of them are protected. Should make the church lighter as well. >>> The path at the front has been reported a number of times to NWL and DCC and waiting for someone to inspect it.<<< Please don’t walk on it!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Extracts form the Northern Echo 15th August, 2018 Members of St John’s Church, in Meadowfield, were thrilled to see work get underway on the hall, which will be a new facility for the village. A ground-breaking ceremony was held on Tuesday, 14th August, 2018. Members of the church and fundraising committee met with builders on the site of the new hall. Lesley Baxter, has led the fundraising campaign to raise more than half a million pounds for the project. She said: “It went really well. We got everyone together who has been involved in the lease and the building and the project manager. “It was a moment to celebrate. It’s taken us this long to get that far but it’s real now. “Quite a few people were passing in the street and looking to see what was happening which is nice. Hopefully we will be on schedule to finish by March.” As the work got underway, William Quigley, from WJM-Quigley, which is carrying out the work, congratulated Ms Baxter on the successful raising of the funds. He added: “She’s responsible for all the fundraising for the community centre which I’m sure will be a great asset to the village.” The community has been raising money for the new hall ever since a fire raged through the old building, which was more than 100 years old, in March 2014, making it impossible to use. Since then they have had to hold events in the church and they have carried out countless fundraising events from music nights to raffles and tombolas to get to their target of £565,000. A 30-year lease has now been agreed between The Durham Diocesan Board of Finance, St John’s Church and a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) set up to run the new community hall. Plans have been made to make a time capsule which will be buried outside the new hall next year. The new facility will have disabled access and be dementia friendly, and will have a large hall with space to seat up to 200, as well as a small meeting room, a large kitchen, toilets and an office. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 21st June – Hall contract all signed! Just need charity commission to approve the date it can be started from. There is a notice up at the church which has to be there for a other three weeks. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 20th June – A topographical survey was carried out this week if anyone wondered what was going on ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 14th June – Picked up signed lease from the Diocese today so just PCC to sign and Father Carl , then it goes back to the solicitors. The charity commission have asked for her another public notice to be displayed for a month so that will be going up at the weekend. Means more delays but has to done to keep everything legal. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Also today there was some tree damage thanks to the storm. Arrangements have been made to clear it and luckily it didn’t hit the church ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  7th June – Big news tonight! I have the lease in my possession. Just need to arrange a time to get all the three parties together to sign it and get the last of the paperwork together. Then it’s up to the charity commission to authorise the start date then work can start ***************************************************** Our second AGM on May 17th at 19:15 was held at the Brandon & Meadowfield British Legion Club, Meadowfield Thank you to everyone who came to our second AGM, there was a finance report and annual report on where we are at the minute. We have all the funds for the build and am just waiting for the lease to be signed in June then it will be all systems go! A question has been asked about wheelchair access and we are to look at the kitchen for accessibility with the height of the counter and Herron Carlin’s the planned table. The winning builder was also revealed and people asked them questions. Can’t wait to get started. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ******Breaking news! ********* Today I got written confirmation that we are to receive £40,000 from the section 106 money from the Meadowfield housing development. Big thanks to all of you who bought a house! This means we have raised £565,000 which is more than enough for the build, any surplus and the £2,000 from Tesco and the co op members scheme and anymore I can find will go towards the landscaping. Many thanks to Councillors Paul Taylor and John Turnbull, Andy and Pam from Mid Durham Area Action Partnership (AAP) for supporting the new hall and all your help. We are 5 days into the 30 days notice period about the new lease and then it can be signed. Thank you for your continuous support and patience. Lesley ************************************************************ The first AGM was in St. John’s on 11th May. The 2016 accounts and a report on progress were presented. The Insurance settlement was originally £316,000 with £50,000 sent as an advance, the remainder will be sent as soon as work commences. However we were informed in March 2017 that this amount is to be increased by 2.85% to take into account that building costs have increased. This is now £325,000. Some funders have sent their money and others have pledged amounts to the total of £174,500. Some of this is held (£82,000) until the lease is sorted. The community so far has raised over £15,500 since the fire. We have a great fundraising committee who also arrange events for fundraising for the church as well as the hall. Also the Co-op member scheme ended in April raising £1,141.80. Total funding is £516,000 approx., some of which will not be released until building work starts. Also have £9,750 for equipment from the insurance. This was for kitchen equipment, tables, chairs etc. to replace those lost in the fire including Mothers’ Union equipment. St Johns Hall Meadowfield is now a registered charity, 1165657, from 22nd February 2016. Lesley Baxter, Father Carl Peters and David Jocelyn are the first three trustees. The constitution states that the Priest in Charge and one member of the PCC must be trustees. Another five are needed and advertisement for the positions will be going out soon. A new lease for at least 30 years will be set up between the Diocese, PCC St John’s (legally these were the last known custodians) and St John’s Hall Meadowfield. This is currently in the hands of the solicitor and the charity commission. The new lease will hopefully be in place in the next two months when building work can start. The project managers, D3 Associates, answered questions on the new build and showed the new plans. A view of the hall is below.     The plan view of the Hall shows a large main hall activity area (capable of sitting up to 200 in rows of chairs or events with tables for a lesser number) with a stage. Other areas include a small meeting room, a large kitchen, toilets and an office. Some details may change, when the plans are put out to tender and definite costs are available.

St. John’s church hall was destroyed by a fire on 23rd March 2014 after being a Church Hall since 1911. Fundraising has begun to rebuild the hall *************************************************** 90th Birthday beacon for HM Queen Elizabeth ********************************************* ****************************************** September 4th – Almost done! ********************************************** ********************************************************* ***************************************************************** Site of Hall ***************************************************** SUMMER FAYRE 2014   ********************************   ******************************* ****************************************

7th June 2018 Big news tonight! I have the lease in my possession. Just need to arrange a time to get all the three parties together to sign it and get the last of the paperwork together. Then it’s up to the charity commission to authorise the start date then work can start 30th May 2018 The notice period ends tomorrow and I have a meeting with the solicitor on June 7th , hoping I come home with the new lease and can arrange for to it to be signed. 24th April 2018             ******Breaking news! ********* Today I got written confirmation that we are to receive £40,000 from the section 106 money from the Meadowfield housing development. Big thanks to all of you who bought a house! This means we have raised £565,000 which is more than enough for the build, any surplus and the £2,000 from Tesco and the co op members scheme and anymore I can find will go towards the landscaping. Many thanks to Councillors Paul Taylor and John Turnbull, Andy and Pam from Mid Durham Area Action Partnership (AAP) for supporting the new hall and all your help. We are 5 days into the 30 days notice period about the new lease and then it can be signed. Thank you for your continuous support and patience. Lesley 29th March 2018 St. John’s church aren’t having a spring Fayre this year and are having a gift day instead. All money will be towards the new heating system. All donations greatly appreciated and next year I can get 25% back in gift aid. Please put donation in an envelope and pass onto church or someone you knows who attends. I can take them if you send me a message. Thank you. 23rd March 2018 Thanks to everyone who voted in the Tesco blue token scheme. I’ve had an email whilst I was out (it’s my birthday today) that we came 2nd and have won £2,000. This will be towards the landscaping so thank you very much. 22nd January 2018 The hall is having a fundraiser at Meadowfield British legion on Saturday February 17th. 1.30 pm to 3.30 pm . Craft stalls, refreshments, raffle, tombola. Donations appreciated for tombola, raffle and cakes on the day. 5th December 2017 With some more cake sales yesterday the total raised from Sunday’s event is £403, this brings the total raised by the community to over £18,000 which is brilliant. Don’t forgot to change your co op membership scheme to the hall. Can be done online. Tesco tokens start January 2nd in various Durham Stores. Waiting for the deadline of tenders of 20th December to find how much is needed. Total in the pot so far is £524,646 with a few grant claims in the application stage. 1st December 2017 If you shop at Tesco please make sure you ask for the blue tokens. The hall is in with a chance to win £4,000 between 2nd January and 28 th February. Brandon Carrside Youth club are currently in the scheme so please vote for them. 24th July 2017 An amazing £541 was raised at the rock & roll night which must take us over £518,000 now. 3585 is the only unclaimed raffle ticket from last night. 22nd July 2017 A massive thank you to Jan Shoulder for organising tonight’s latest rock and roll night x 12th May 2017 Great first AGM tonight. Thank you to everyone who came. Lovely positive comments about the new plans. Building costs have gone up considerably but there is an option for the hall part not to be as big but it would still hold 180 people seated and fit 10 round tables for 110 people for weddings/ parties. This would make the back area bigger which the space could be utilised for all sorts of outdoor activities/parking. Has a meeting room for 12 people and a large kitchen that can be used for meetings as well. All exciting if we can get the lease and raise the rest of the money! It’s only been three years and we have achieved so much in that time. For any enquiries please see Facebook stjohnshallmeadowfield or contact Lesley on lesleypb@aol.com 24th April 2017 St. John’s Hall Meadowfield AGM will be on Thursday, May 11th at 6pm in St. John’s church. The project managers will be there with the plans in 3D images. If any one has any questions, they must be given in writing before May 7th. Please send to either Lesley Baxter (lesleypb@aol.com), Fr. Carl or David Jocelyn. All welcome. 12th February 2017 Thank you to everyone who braved the rain and came to our fundraiser today . Over £700 raised. Unclaimed raffle prizes please contact me. 20th December 2016 The rock and roll night on December 2nd was a great success and £550 was raised. Thanks to Jan shoulder for organising The next fundraiser is booked for Saturday February 11th at the British legion. An afternoon event with refreshments, tombola, raffle and craft stalls. Donations appreciated for the tombola and raffle. More details to follow. 25th November 2016 On this Friday – 25th November 7-11pm. Fundraiser for the hall and carrside youth and community project 10th September 2016 I went to see the new community hall at hamsteels this afternoon and it looks lovely. Mid Durham AAP are having their board meeting there on Wednesday at 6pm so I’ll be getting a proper look round. Anyone can attend this meeting where the councils budget cuts for 2017/18 will be discussed and the police crime commissioner will be giving a presentation so should be a good night. If you can attend please email Lynn.cummings@durham.gov.uk 2nd September 2016 If anyone is interested in booking the hall please email me lesleypb@aol.com. We are writing a business plan and need to ask users what they require and what it will be used for . Also the more interested users the better for grants. Thank you , Lesley 1st September 2016 Thank you to anyone who nominated the hall to the TSB community fund, unfortunately we weren’t successful this time. I have had a phone call from Newcastle building society so fingers crossed that is successful. If anyone knows of any funding going please let me know, down to the last £76,000! 21st July 2016 We need your help! We had our first meeting with the project managers this afternoon. Please could people email or message me on what you think the hall needs. Facilities, flooring, equipment, security, large toilets so can get changed in , baby changing facilities. The project managers are looking at the plans which went to the council but want to know exactly what it will be used for so they can tweak them . What do you expect in a brand new community hall. It will be a dementia friendly building . And have the hearing aid loops. Also if any one is interested in using the hall for a group/event/party/meetings etc please let me know, the more interest we get the better it is for grants . We have a waiting list for parties already. I would love it to be used for a wedding reception , the bride would have a blank canvas to to with what they want. Hope you can help. Lesley July 2016 Thank you to banks community fund. Originally we were granted £5,000 which they changed to £20,000. Email received for in fact £22,000. Total so far up to £492k. By the end of July I will hear from another two potential funders. First meeting with D3 the project managers on Thursday. The saga of the land continues but we are confident the solicitor can sort it out so a lease can be granted. Next fundraiser Friday from 7pm. Only a handful of tickets left so should be a brill night 10th July 2016 Brandon and Meadowfield residents group meeting tomorrow Monday 11th July from 6.30pm. Held at the community centre at sycamore park( turning opposite the Wok inn) Representatives from Dcc will be there to listen to your concerns regarding the Stoneacre car dealership on sawmills lane. Should be an interesting and lively meeting. 30th June 2016 What a brilliant week for the hall fund, found out last week we had £1,500 from Co. Durham foundation trust, yesterday we were awarded another £5,000 from another donor through CDFT and today I came home to a letter from the Foyle Foundation offering £5,000. That’s £490k in the pot now. Aiming for £580k to cover all the legal fees and project manager fees. Almost there! Next fundraiser – rock and roll night on 22nd July at the legion. 21st June 2016 Found out today we have been granted £1,500 from co Durham foundation trust. This brings the total so far to £480,000. There is a legal issue that needs sorting out before we can move on to the next stage. In the mean time I am filling in grant applications for the rest of the building and fees costs. The budget is currently £570-580k to cover everything so only £90-100k left! If anyone sees any funding opportunities please please let Lesley know. 11th June 2016 Rock and roll night and raffle on the 22nd July from 7pm at the legion. Tickets £3 and can be purchased from Lesley Baxter , Shirley Kidd , Jan Shoulder or behind the bar. Thanks, Lesley Baxter 24th May 2016 Please support the hall fund by registering at http://www.thegengame.com http://www.thegengame.com Once registered order your smart plug and go onto “leagues” click on the northern power grid logo and a drop down menu shows you the charities set up. Any problems either contact me or of you use the contact us they are very quick at getting back to you. You can win prizes. 14th May 2016 Thank you to everyone who came today , £937 raised for church funds. £ 1.039 eventually 22nd April 2016. Received £1,500 this week from the William Webster trust, this brings the total in funding up to £ 477,500. 22nd April 2016 Thank you to Jan Shoulder and Carol Cook for selling knitted ducks over Easter for the hall fund. £135.50 was raised 21st April 2016 What a brilliant night, over 100 people old and young. A great joint event with the legion and carrside youth club. Thank you to everyone who came. £66 raised for the hall fund and all the raffle prizes were claimed. If anyone has any photos please share them. Once i get the official ones I will put them on 3rd April 2016 I’m trying for this again, if anyone else wants to try for us that would be brilliant. The postcode is dh7 8rg. Budget we are aiming for is £550,000 to include fees. There is a top prize of £150,000 which would be enough for the rest of the building costs and landscaping/car parking and regional prizes of materials Which would still be a great help. https://www.buildingbettercommunities.co.uk/ – Building Better Communities is back with £250,000 available to transform local communities 25th March 2016 Found out yesterday that a funder who pledged £5,000 before the fire have now offered £20,000, subject to some form filling, if successful that’s brings the total raised to £475,000. Nearly there! I will be at Brandon welfare hall on Easter Sunday with some jewellery and Tombola raising money for the hall fund as well as the clothing bank. 1.30 pm to 3.30 pm 13th March 2016 Latest with the hall incase you were wondering why nothing was happening on the site. An appointment of a project manager or a builder can’t start until we have a few things finalised. One was to become a registered charity known as St. John’s hall Meadowfield , this was confirmed on 22nd February. Another part is to sort out a new lease with the current owners of the land which is the Lord Boyne estates. This is currently in the hands of the solicitors. Finally we need to raise enough money to complete the building and the conditions of the planning permission. We have raised £450,000 so far plus £11,000 from community fundraising. Planning permission has been granted and building control have seen the plans. We do need to raise more than the original £500k budget to cover the project manager fees. Another grant claim went off last week and I have some more to look at. Any questions please message me and I will try and answer any queries or concerns you may have. Thanks Lesley 27th February 2016 Thank you to everyone who came today, the stall holders, all the helpers and organisers. Over £980 raised for the rebuild fund so thank you so much, that’s over £11,000 raised by the community since the fire. 22nd February 2016 Had some great news this morning that St John’s Hall Meadowfield is now a registered charity. Number 1165657. It now means that the hall is its own entity and can hopefully put in claims for funding from the lottery, postcode lottery , health lottery and any others I can find. 14th January 2016 Fundraiser for the hall rebuild on Saturday 27th February from 1.30pm. Craft stalls, activities for children, refreshments, tombola and raffle. Special appearance from Anna and Elsa. Donations needed for tombola, there is a box at the back of the church entrance under the table. Donations on the day of cakes/cup cakes would be appreciated. 14th January 2016 Planing permission has been granted. Next stage is the building control submission, appoint a project manager, appoint a builder. Still need to raise funding. Aiming for a budget of £550,000 to include fees. Total funding so far £431,000. ________________________________________________________ 29th November 2015 I’ve applied to ASDA spennymoor to be included in their green token scheme, I don’t know if it would help but if others could nominate us too? I just went on Asda spennymoor website and their green token scheme is on the right hand side and press the nominate button. Only needs a few words. Thanks 22nd November 2015 Planning permission advert in Durham times. Any queries please contact me and hopefully I answer any questions you may have. 19th November 2015 Another £10,000 in the pot. That’s a total of £105,000 in funding plus £316k from insurance. Getting there slowly. 25th September 2015 Thank you to the British legion, Six nowt and everyone who came tonight, a brilliant night. A brilliant £467 was raised tonight , thank you to everyone who came. 20th September 2015 Advance tickets for our fundraiser on Friday 25th at the British legion. Some great raffle prizes including a £50 voucher from an Indian restaurant in Durham, beamish day tickets, diggerland vouchers and many more. Please can you share. Tickets from myself or at the legion. All advanced tickets in a draw to win a bottle of vodka. I can keep tickets back and just pay on the night. Thank you , Lesley 31st August 2015 For the month of September St johns hall fund is through to the green token scheme at ASDA living in the Arnison centre. Please make sure you get your token when shopping. Lesley baxter will there on the 19th promoting the hall with the new plans between 10 am and 4pm. Tickets now on sale for the next fundraiser on the 25th September at the royal British legion. six Nowt play 70’s mod hits and a raffle. £3 in advance or £3.50 on the door. All advanced tickets will be out in a draw to win a prize. Please contact Lesley baxter or Shirley Kidd for tickets. 27th August 2015 Fundraiser night at the British Legion Tickets are on sale NOW. Please contact me to arrange payment and collection. I will be taking some to the legion at the weekend. Tickets can also be bought from Shirly Kidd. £3 in advance Or £3.50 on the night.every ticket has a number and there will be a raffle done in the break for a prize for ticket holders. 22nd August 2015 Thank you to everyone to helped and came to the latest fundraiser, another £325 in the pot. Hope everyone had a good time. I am disappointed not as many people as the last one in February so need ideas on how to advertise events. 3rd August 2015 Help needed on Friday 21st August to transport some tables from church to the footballers club. Anyone with a van or large car as the tables are 6 foot. Please PM Lesley 2nd August 2015 From 1st September for the month if you are at ASDA living in the Arnison centre please vote for St John’s Hall Meadowfield in the green token scheme. Can win up to £200 and hopefully go through the community fund money to help with the rebuild. I will be there on the 19th September between 10am to 4pm with a collection bucket. If anyone can spare some time over the day please join me, it would be appreciated. ***Tickets on sale soon for the evening of 25th September, group Six Nowt and a raffle. £3 a ticket and from Lesley Baxter 0784 6542035 *** 28th July 2015 Volunteers needed for the event on 22nd August, cake stall, bottle bags, bouncy castles bouncers, if you can spare half hour so we can give people a chance to see what else is there it would be great. Please message me. Any donations of sweets or bottles please PM me so I collect. We also have the police coming with the quad bike. Cakes can be taken on the day or contact Lesley Baxter for collecting the day before . 07846542035 Thank you , Lesley 25th July 2015 Thank you to mid Mid Durham Area Action Partnership (AAP) for the £200 from their small grants. This will go towards the August and September fundraisers.Posted 24th July 2015 Volunteers needed for the event on 22nd August, cake stall, bottle bags, bouncy castles bouncers, if you can spare half hour so we can give people a chance to see what else is there it would be great. Please message me. Any donations of sweets or bottles please PM me so I collect. Thank you , Lesley Posted 23rd July 2015 Sent off a couple more grant applications tonight so fingers crossed. At the last count we had £60,000 confirmed and there is an offer of another £35,000 (need to complete application forms and it has to be approved) so along with the insurance money we have £411,000 so only £89,000 short from the £500,000 target ! Still waiting to hear outcome of three more I applied for a few months ago. We also have £19,000 from DCC neighbourhood budget for the planing stage and any underspend will go towards the building. Applied to Asda to be part of their green token scheme and if successful can then go forward to their community fund for between £5,000 and £10,000. Also have the community fundraising and donations of £9,000 and £9,750 from the insurance for equipment. Have an idea to sell bricks and name plaques so the community can have their name on the building and also kept some old bricks. The application for the charity was sent today so once we get a charity number more grants can be applied for. Once we have the funding for the hall we need to get the church entrance widened and think about the Parking arrangements. The back of the hall needs to be landscaped so fundraising will continue. Thank you to everyone who has helped over the last 16 months Posted 22nd July 2015 Met with DCC planners today, was a productive meeting and just need to a few tweaks to the latest plans of the new build. They prefer the new all brick front but do not like the green cladding (it was the first choice after two consultation events) a new colour needs to be chosen. Parking was also discussed and we have a few options to look at to avoid using all of the green space at the back of the building.The Diocese and St johns church need to be involved as the entrance to the church needs to be widened, this isn’t included in the £500k budget so more costs are needed. Thank you to councillors Paul Taylor and John turnbull for coming today. As for funding we should have enough now to build the outside structure, just need to raise more to cover the fixtures and fitting, electrics and heating. so nearly there! Still waiting to hear from a few places I have applied for and complete an application form for DCC neighbourhood budget. The application to become a CIO should be sent to the charity commission this week. Hoping we can apply for more grants once we have a charity number. An advert has to be placed in two national papers to make sure no one has any interest in the land, it has always been assumed the land is still owned by the Boyne estates as per a 1949 lease, then a lease can be set up between the diocese (they manage the land on behalf of the owners), St. John’s PCC and St. John’s hall meadowfield. Posted 12th July 2015 £649 to go into the fund tomorrow as proceeds from the fayre last week. Thanks to all who came. The running total rasied since last June from fundraising is £7,072! There are also donations of £1,903. A big thank you to you all. Posted 4th July 2015 Thank you to everyone who came to the Fayre today, approx £1300 raised to be split between the hall fund and church funds. Next hall fundraiser 22nd August at the footballers club from 12pm. Posted 28th June 2015 Thank you to Meadowfield brownies /guides for the lovely donations to the tombola for the Summer Fayre next Saturday. Posted 16th June 2015 Would you like to be included in a book about the old hall? If you have any memories or photos please contact me and your story could be used! Mine were mainly the discos in the 80’s. I lived at broom park so Brandon seemed miles away! Was the time before mobiles so no photos. Posted 3rd June 2015 Summer fayre – Saturday, July 4 at 12:00pm – St Johns Church Brandon Posted 28th May 2015 Received a chq for £1,000 today from persimmon homes community champions Posted 17th May 2015 The hall is in with a chance of winning £25,000 from Aviva insurance please vote https://community-fund.aviva.co.uk/voting/project/412 or e mail Lesley for link, lesleypb@aol.com £1,000 awarded from persimmon homes community fund £19,000 awarded from councillors Paul Taylor and John Turnbull. This pays for the planning stage. Any underspend will go towards the new build. The Pre planning application was submitted in April and will take up to 12 weeks. Then the site investigations will take place before the full application is submitted by Brandon and Byshottles parish council. They have kindly agreed to do this in our behalf as they get a discount for community buildings. Fundraising events- Sat July 4th Fayre at church (joint event with church funds). Craft stalls, body shop, Osborne books, face painting , plants, bric a brac, Ice cream van, cake stalls, refreshments, tombola and raffle. From 12 pm. Any donations for tombola, cake stall or bric a brac appreciated. Unsold cd’s &DVDs can be sold after the event Saturday August 22nd from 12 pm at the footballers Club, Brandon a family fun day. Pet party North East will be there with various pets including snakes, spiders, ghekos, millipedes, plus furry animals rabbits, Guinea pigs and rats. Candle making for kids and adults, card stall, tombola , cake stall, refreshments and more. 50p and tickets from Lesley Baxter in advance Friday September 25 th at Meadowfield British legion club from 7pm. Band Six Nowt , covers including the specials, the jam, sex pistols and more . Raffle . Tickets £3 from Lesley Baxter Posted 2nd April 2015 Productive day yesterday, got the name changed on the Facebook page – to St Johns Hall Meadowfield please share to your Friends, the more likes we have the better for grant claims. Applied to Jewsons again and also had a tip off for Aviva who are doing community grants. Will find out soon if these two have made it to the public vote and will be sharing the links for people to vote. The Aviva one is worth £25,000 and the Jewsons anything from £1,000 to £100,000. Hoping to find out soon if some funding is approved then we can apply to Dcc for the pre planning application to see what we need to get to the full planning stage. Also had a call from a organisation who I applied for some funding last November and they are coming to visit in May, sounds promising as he is coming up from York. Seeing a premises tomorrow for a fundraising event planned for August. Next fundraising committee is 11th April if anyone has ideas or would like to volunteer to help out at events, will be needing cake and scone makers, tombola and raffle prizes. Have a lovely Easter. Posted 28th March 2015 What a brilliant night at browney club. Over £1300 raised for the hall fund. Thank you to everyone who came and especially to Brandon parish council and North Road Posted 12th March 2015 Got home to a chq for £30,000 from Garfield Weston. Yippee Posted 11th March 2015 Charity night for the hall fund. Best thing is that organised by someone else so I just turn up stress free. Thank you to Brandon Parish Council. Browney Social Club Hi, We are having a chairmans charity evening on Saturday 28th March 7pm-11pm towards the rebuild of St Johns Church Hall Meadowfield. Entertainment from live band North Road, a magician, raffle, tombola and a buffet. Tickets are £3 and are available from behind the bar or contact 0191 3789947. All welcome and hope to see you there. lease like and share. Posted 9th March 2015 If you can spare five minutes please can you nominate St Johns Hall to win some money. Please call the scheme St Johns Hallabd the post code DH7 8RG, Thank you. – https://www.buildingbettercommunities.co.uk Posted 24th February 2015 Final figure to be banked is £1,536.00. Thank you everyone. that’s over £5,200 the community have raised since March 2014. Posted 18th February 2015 Not long now for the Fundraiser ,tombola is going to be massive. Greggs cakes, tesco Easter eggs, raffle including wok inn and bay horse voucher. Please tell your friends Posted 17th February 2015 Need a name for the new hall. There already is St. John’s community hall registered with the charity commission so ideas needed for a unique name please Posted 15th January 2015 Help is needed with baking cakes/pies, tombola prizes. If you have any CDs or DVD’s they could be sold towards funds and any left over could be sold to magpie or donated to charity. Any ideas appreciated to raise as much money as possible. Posted 7th January 2015 Public event to see new plans on Saturday, January 31 at 2:30pm at St Johns Church Brandon Posted 3rd January 2015 Any donations towards a tombola for adults and another for children for February would be greatly appreciated. We have Prof nincompoop the children’s entertainer and the bouncy castle for the younger kids as well as facepainting, glitter tattoos, refreshments, and stalls for Easter and Mother’s Day gifts. Any bakers can bring cakes/pies/scones from 12.30pm. The event opens 1.30 to 3.30pm. All proceeds are towards the hall fund. Posted 31st December 2014 A fundraiser for the hall fund has been organised for saturday February 21st at meadowfield sport centre between 1.30-3.30pm, volunteers are needed to sell refreshments, sell raffle tickets, supervise the bouncy castle. If you can spare half an hour it would be a great help . Please PM Lesley. Posted 20th December Got a cheque for £500 today from the Catherine Cookson Trust for the hall fund. That’s £30,500 in grants and nearly £4,000 from fundraising. Posted 6th December We have knitters on board making hats, scarves baby wear etc. We need donations of wool please and plenty of it. If you have any to spare shout out loud please Posted 22nd November Another big thank you to everyone who bought tickets for last night, people who donated raffle prizes and the ones who came and got up and danced. The total raised was a brilliant £616.00. This brings the total raised by the community since March to ………..£3,901. Thank you all. Next event booked is the 21st February at Meadowfield sports centre between 1.30 pm and 3.30 pm. Details to follow so watch this space! Posted 17th November Hall fundraiser event Friday 21st November 7pm meadowfield club. Church fayre for church funds Saturday November 22nd from1pm Christingle service for children’s society December 14th at 3pm Christmas Eve Eucharist – 7pm, collection to let the children live. Event for hall/church funds Saturday, 21st February 2014 1.30 to 3.30, details to follow. Posted 15th November Last week for tickets, any requests for songs? Got some great raffle prizes. Fundraiser night Friday 21st November 2014 – Friday at 7:00pm Meadowfield and district social club, Frederick street south, meadowfield, DH7 8LZ Posted 15th November Drop off clothes, toiletries, nappies, to St. John’s church on Wednesdays between 10-11am. Last colection December 3rd for this year. Collection will start again in January date to be annouced. Clothing bank on Tuesdays 25th November and 9th December at Brandon Welfare Hall. Run up to Christmas toys, sweets and selection boxes wanted. Thank you. Posted 6th November What would you like the new build to look like? I have plans from a feasibility study for an idea. I want the stage in the middle and a back door out onto the garden ( another plan of mine) Also I saved some bricks from the old building to do something with the burnt sign that was also saved. It has been suggested people can ‘buy a brick’ towards the funds. Your name can’t be carved on it as they are so old but a plan of the bricks will be on show with which one yours is! I’m meeting an architect soon so any ideas greatly received. Thanks Posted 30th August I have an intial cost for a new building but insurers want me to look at alternatives to a brick building so any ideas anyone or examples of good community halls? Will be grateful for any thoughts. Posted 27th August Thank you to everyone who bought a teddy name or came to our stall at tesco last week, another £55.50 in the pot. Since the fire £3,184.07 has been raised by the community through various ways, keep them coming! Thank you again. Lesley Posted 13th August Another fundraiser this Friday afternoon between 1pm and 5 pm at Langley moor tesco. Bric a brac and name the bear. Thank you to Shirly Aberdeen. Posted 10th August If anyone knows who pinched some fencing from the hall and tried to get some scrap metal please let me know. Also let then know if they had waited until the clearance had finished they could have took it anyway with a donation to the fund. Also they will be covered in asbestos dust. Posted 5th August £388 collected so far from Sunday, thank you to everyone who bought crosses, raffle tickets, bought from the stalls. The collection in church raised £164 for the Poppy Appeal. Posted August 4th Day one of the clearance, don’t worry I won’t be putting a daily photo on! Fundraiser – Friday, November 21st @ 7pm at Meadowfield Club, featuring the group – PLAYBACK. 60’s, 70’s , 80’s music right up to the present. Pjus Raffle & disco. Tickets will be £5 available through Lesley Posted July 30th All ready for Sundays memorial service, March from British legion 10.45am, collection during the service towards the poppy appeal, crosses can be bought from at John’s church or the British legion to be laid by the trees at the front of the church, donations towards the hall fund, service at the war memorial at Brandon village then refreshments, stalls, raffle at the legion. The church will be open on Monday between 9am and 12 pm. Please use side entrance as the car park will be used for the contractors clearing the hall. Posted 25th July 2014 Clearance starting 4th August, Monday to Saturday 8am to 4pm. For 28 days All vehicles will be using the church car park so restrictions at the main entrance. Please park in the council car park. Any queries or concerns please contact me. Lesley Posted 11th July 2014  Just to remind our lovely residents of Burnhope, Satley, New Brancepeth, Brandon and Brancepth that we will be holding our village surgeries in the next two weeks so come along and let us know about your village and how together we can improve it – if it does indeed need any improvements: Burnhope – Monday 14 July, 5 till 7pm in the Social Club Satley – Tuesday 15 July, 6 till 7pm in the Village Hall New Brancepeth – Saturday 19 July, 10 till 12 noon in the Village hall Brandon – Saturday 19 July, 2 till 4pm in the Welfare Hall Brancepeth – Monday 21 July, 5 till 7pm in the Village Hall You can also message me if you can’t make the drop in. Lesley Posted July 10th – Great news Thank you to staff and residents of Appletree hospital in meadowfield. They held a dress down day and BBQ and raised £45 for the hall fund. It’s great to see the community pulling together, any one who has any ideas on fundraising please get in touch. Anything raised will be greatly appreciated. Posted July 6th – On Sunday, August 3 at 10:45am there will be a March from the British legion with a band and banners about 10.45am to St Johns church, then a service including the last post until 11.45am, collection for the poppy appeal, march back to British legion, either travel to the war memorial in Brandon village for a short service or have a cup of tea in the legion. Official opening of the memorial room followed by refreshments. All donations towards the refreshments to the hall fund. UPCOMING – St Johns Church Hall Meadowfield – 14 hours ago Saturday 19th July at Brandon welfare hall, 10am to 12pm . Share your views on Brandon/meadowfield/Langley moor with Mid Durham AAP and don’t forget to mention that a community building is needed in meadowfield, I need as much support as I can, thank you. ************************************* June 28 Thank you to everyone who came to the church fayre which raised an amazing £2,145 to be split between the church and hall plus an extra donation to the hall of £100. Unclaimed raffle winners to be announced soon.  ************************************* June 27 Thank you for Brandon co-op and Langley moor Tesco’s customers for buying raffle tickets. Hope you are lucky ************************************* June 21st To let everyone know the costs so far so you know that anything raised is much needed Emergency work on the Sunday came to £2,300, cost to clear the site to foundations level and fees £108,000. Cost of rebuild approx £500,000, less cost of settlement which is still unknown. As you can see the cost of the damage is over £600,000 so a lot of money will be needed to get a hall the size it was. I have £30,000 so far plus donations and fundraising events of £1,360, I have two grant applications on hold until costs are known. I have a number of grants to apply for and I am determined to rebuild a 350m2 building that was there before. It will take a while so be patient and any ideas of funding streams, fundraising or volunteers to help will be greatly appreciated. Just message or post any ideas you have. Thanks for all your support. Lesley *************************************** June 16th Don’t forget Friday night is the fundraiser at the British legion 7pm till 11pm. Even if you don’t have tickets you can come for a drink in the bar and buy raffle tickets. Update on clearance, just waiting for start date which we’ve tried to work round the church’s calendar of weddings and the WW1 Commemoration service on 3rd August. There will be disruption to the car park and main entrance but I’ll keep everyone up to date with what’s happening. The works will take 3-4weeks, the men in white suits will be there every day at the beginning. The next wedding is in September so should be all finished by then. The costs of the clearance are coming in a lot more I had wanted so all fundraising no matter how big or small is much needed. Hoping for a settlement figure in a couple of weeks. Any queries just message me. Thanks Lesley  ****************************** June 4th There is a WW1 memorial service starting with a march down from the legion at 10.45 am with a band and the banners, a church service at 11.00 then a service at the war memorial at brandon village to lay wreaths. The church collection is for the poppy appeal. Tea and coffee will be available at the legion after the service for those not going to the memorial. After the laying of the wreaths there will be an official opening of the memorial room in the British legion followed by refreshments. Donations for the hall fund can be given on the day and crosses will be on sale for a donation to the hall to remember WW1 at St. John’s church and the British legion. These can be laid next to the trees at the front of the church.       For any details please contact Jill Rodgers on 07770 679365  ******************************* May 9th Update on hall, Elliott Johnson Ltd have been appointed to deal with Stage 1- the clearance of the site. If anyone saw activity at the hall today don’t get too excited, it was the company carrying out the asbestos survey so the tender can be written for the clearance. Tenders will go out and interested parties will put their quotes in. Once the contractor has been appointed then planning permission has to put to DCC for the demolition. this unfortunately,takes time. The site is to cleared completely and grass seeded over. Stage 2 – At the same time a feasibility study is been carried out to determine a reinstatement value. Then I should get an offer from the insurance company . Plans will be drawn up for a new build for the size the hall was 350m2. Then the shortfall will be known. Fundraising has begun and the response from the community has been overwhelming, it proves that the hall is needed and people are wanting to raise money to see a new hall built.  *******************************