The people of Stogursey have approved proposals to refurbish and improve the Victory Hall.
Throughout 2015 the Victory Hall Committee has been working with Stogursey Parish Council, West Somerset Council, 2MD Regeneration and Vivid Regeneration to work out how best to improve the 60 year old hall. After much consultation with local people, groups and businesses the Committee has agreed on three major steps:
- The old youth centre will be demolished
- The existing Victory Hall will be refurbished and extended to include a new youth centre, an additional function room, a new and larger kitchen and new toilets.
- The existing all weather sports pitch will be covered and be extended with new changing rooms.
Chris Ford, Chair of the Victory Hall Committee, said “The Victory Hall has served us well but times move on and the requirements we have of the building have changed. The sports facilities in particular need to be improved and young people also deserve better. The proposals will help provide a 21st century facility for Stogursey and ensure we are a healthy and vibrant community.”
How we worked with local people in Stogursey
In early 2015 we carried out an in-depth consultation with local people. By recruiting and training a team of community researchers we were able to door-knock every household in the parish. 
We asked people which community facilities they used, what they used the Victory Hall for, what new facilities they would like and whether they wanted to get involved.
Together with visits to local groups we were able to get 315 responses, representing 23% of the parish population.
The responses informed the proposed designs, along with one-to -one meetings and workshops with local stakeholders, including the operators of other community facilities in the village.
In the summer we consulted again, this time on the proposed designs. We delivered a leaflet to every household in the parish, put the proposals on-line, produced a disply and held a number of meetings and drop-in events around the village. Of the people who responded, over 90% gave their support to the proposals.
Next steps for Stogursey Victory Hall
The next step will be to apply for funding for the works, estimated at £2.5m. 2MD Regeneration and Vivid Regeneration will be retained to work on the fundraising and the process of securing planning permission.
More details including the scheme designs are at http://stogurseyvictoryhall.org.uk
Stogursey Victory Hall has had £400,000 funding approved by West Somerset Council. The funding will go towards a major upgrade to the hall including refurbishment of the existing hall, an extension with new kitchen, function room and toilets, new changing rooms adjacent to the MUGA, a cover for the MUGA, car parking and landscaping.