The Old St Helen’s Church Hall, On Church Street East, In Pinxton, Courtesy Of Bolsover District Council.
Report by Local Democracy Reporter – Jon Cooper
Bolsover District Council has revealed that plans to replace a run-down church hall with a new modern community venue are moving forward after the authority secured over £750,00 of funding.
The council’s planning committee originally approved Dragonfly Management Ltd’s planning application at a meeting in October, last year, for the old building at St Helen’s Church, on Church Street East, in Pinxton, to be torn down and replaced with a new church hall with a rear terrace and garden.
And the council confirmed in September that the scheme is moving forward after the authority received funding from the Government and the East Midlands Combined County Authority for the project.
Cllr Mary Dooley, who represents Pinxton, said: “When I was asked by ministers where money could be spent in Pinxton, I said the church hall.
“It is a site with such potential, and it has been standing unused for too long. Once the work is finished, the new community hub will be a valued asset for Pinxton, and I will be very proud to see it being used by local people.”
Bolsover District Council stated that it is working with local partners to deliver the project.
The council also confirmed that £700,000 has been received from the Government’s Regeneration Fund alongside £53,333 from the East Midlands Combined County Authority through the Rural Economic Prosperity Fund.
It has described the scheme as benefiting the locality by providing a contemporary community facility and associated green and garden space.
During a public consultation one neighbour had raised concerns about possible traffic and safety issues because the scheme does not involve any parking at the site.
But the council stated that even though it would have preferred on-site parking it felt this would have created a ‘visual and biodiversity detriment’ and it felt satisfied that there are ‘provisions in place which facilitate visitors arriving by sustainable modes of transport.’.
The new planned church hall will be a predominantly red-brick building measuring 24.3metres long and 10metres wide and it will include a main hall, a kitchen, a store, male, female and accessible toilets, a plant room and an office space.
A terraced area is also planned at the rear of the site facing a greenspace with various trees, shrubs, hedgerows and grassed lawns to be planted with a hard landscaping area also proposed including tarmac paths, concrete paving and a resin garden path.
Development Management and Land Charges Manager Chris Whitmore previously said the scheme will provide a more welcoming entrance by not having front-parking and because of the location it is hoped people will walk to the venue but if not there are parking opportunities available nearby.
He also said that the availability of street-parking means there will not be any highways’ safety impacts.
District Cllr Tom Munro previously highlighted how the village hall scheme is one of the projects to benefit from £15m of Government Levelling Up Regeneration Funding for improvement plans around the district aimed at enhancing shop fronts and establishing community and creative hubs.
Plans For The New St Helen’s Church Village Hall, On Church Street East, At Pinxton, Courtesy Of Bolsover District Council.
Bolsover District Council’s Urban Design Officer also stated the size and scale of the building reflects the scale and nature of the current building and that the new building will work well with the scale of the houses in the neighbourhood.
The council added the building will be transformed into a vibrant community hub which will see a flexible multi-use hall, meeting space, activity space, kitchen and cafe style facilities, office and administration space, outdoor seating, external landscaping and outdoor spaces for the community.
It is hoped the newly-refurbished building will provide a central point for residents, according to the council, with the hub catering for everything from coffee mornings to fitness sessions and play groups to family celebrations.
