Winterton Hub
Introduction by John Summerfield, Chairman of the Old School Hall Committee.
Work has begun on building a new annex to The Old School Hall. The architects are Brown & Buttrick and the contractor SGD Construction Limited
The majority of the funding for the project has come from North Lincolnshire Council and WREN [Waste Recycling Environmental Limited]. The latter was triggered by support and a generous donation of £5,500 from Winterton Town Council.
Three years ago the management committee realised that something had to be done about the poor state of the dormer windows and the veranda at the West end of the building. We were aware there were greater pressures on the play group [Panda Play]. More children were being enrolled and more equipment had to be acquired to meet the demands of the curriculum. That equipment had to be stored and more pressingly cleared away every time the back room was booked for an evening or weekend.
Introduction by John Summerfield, Chairman of the Old School Hall Committee.
Work has begun on building a new annex to The Old School Hall. The architects are Brown & Buttrick and the contractor SGD Construction Limited
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Click for plan of the new annex |
The majority of the funding for the project has come from North Lincolnshire Council and WREN [Waste Recycling Environmental Limited]. The latter was triggered by support and a generous donation of £5,500 from Winterton Town Council.
Three years ago the management committee realised that something had to be done about the poor state of the dormer windows and the veranda at the West end of the building. We were aware there were greater pressures on the play group [Panda Play]. More children were being enrolled and more equipment had to be acquired to meet the demands of the curriculum. That equipment had to be stored and more pressingly cleared away every time the back room was booked for an evening or weekend.
Although the hall was well used in the evenings Monday to Thursday and weekends, we could not extend its use during the day because of child protection issues. It was not permissible for small children to use the same toilets as adults. For historic reasons there has been one occasion each week when an adult group is in the building at the same time as children.
This unsatisfactory situation has been managed effectively by having the children use the disabled toilet under close supervision by staff.
The solution was to build an annex incorporating infants’ toilets and a very large storeroom for Panda Play’s equipment and a separate entrance. Space is at a premium on the site and the only practical thing to do was look at the gap between the Old School Hall and The Ark, which was formerly the school house.
Demolishing the brick lean to and the dilapidated veranda would provide us with an area 3 m [10 foot] x 19.5 m [65 ft].
Buggies have always been a problem. It is not realistic to expect parents to deliver children and then take their buggies home. The answer was to provide an undercover buggy park. Demolishing the lean-to would deprive 2nd Winterton Scouts of their store room. As compensation they will have a new store half as big again.
When we approached North Lincolnshire Council for some help with funding the toilets, we were reminded that new legislation coming into force in September 2008 aimed to give all children outdoor play experience. The council kindly offered us more financial support if we agreed to create a secure play space immediately adjoining the new extension.
We expect the building work to take no more than 16 weeks and with luck we should be able to have the building fully operational by the start of the autumn term.
Rescheduling the bookings and users for the summer term has not been too difficult. Winterton & District Gardening Club offered to move to the Infants School for its meetings on 20th May and 10th June 2009 and the scouts will undertake in activities off site.
All bookings for the summer term will be in the main hall and we ask everyone to bear with us if there are any minor hitches. Finding a gap in the busy schedule to clean the hall and lobby area will prove a challenge, but we shall do our best.
Space is at a premium on the site and access is not easy. We are very grateful to the committee at Rangers F C, the library and link staff, and the Infants School for their co-operation.
Through our web page we shall keep the community up to date on progress.
Updates
Jan 2010 - John Summerfield, Chairman of the Old School Hall Committee.
At last the project is nearing completion. In the summer we took the decision not to regularly update the website because we had encountered unforeseen problems. Had we reported each month as intended it would have been a sad and sorry tale and could have become a conduit for our frustration.
The expected completion date was September 2009. The floors of the infants’ toilets, buggy park and entrance, and store room had to be level with the floor of the back room. This meant more excavation and advice from a structural engineer. He thought it expedient to underpin the flanking buildings and this added time and a cost to the project.
The primary cause of delays to construction was the discovery of a gas line running between The Ark and The Old School Hall. As soon as it was exposed building work had to be rescheduled. We were not permitted to temporarily infill the trench. It was not until 18th September [just after the expected time of completion] that we were able to get contractors on to the site to cap the supply.
It was clear before work began that the final cost would exceed estimates. In May we were fortunate to obtain a loan from ACRE’s Village Hall Fund to enable us to start and give us time to find other sources of money. Meanwhile our application to the LEADER Programme was quietly cooking and it came to the boil on 6th July.
Our bid to the LEADER Programme also included requests for help with fitting out three new store rooms and modifying the kitchen to enable two groups to use it simultaneously.
Nov 2009 - John Summerfield, Chairman of the Old School Hall Committee.
Openings have been made for access to the new annex from the meeting room. Work on the kitchen is complete. The meeting room is decorated and we are waiting for blinds to be fitted and the floor to be renovated and sealed. Jill Higgins, a senior designer with a London based company, volunteered her services as consultant on colour schemes for the meeting room, hall, toilets and buggy park/reception area. The meeting room was a challenge because we wanted it to double as a lovely light and airy space for small children during the day and be appropriate for adults in the evenings.
The builders [SGD Construction Ltd] have knocked through from the annex into the main hall and shortly after Christmas it should be possible to dismantle and remove the temporary wall.
We expect the building work to take no more than 16 weeks and with luck we should be able to have the building fully operational by the start of the autumn term.
Rescheduling the bookings and users for the summer term has not been too difficult. Winterton & District Gardening Club offered to move to the Infants School for its meetings on 20th May and 10th June 2009 and the scouts will undertake in activities off site.
All bookings for the summer term will be in the main hall and we ask everyone to bear with us if there are any minor hitches. Finding a gap in the busy schedule to clean the hall and lobby area will prove a challenge, but we shall do our best.
Space is at a premium on the site and access is not easy. We are very grateful to the committee at Rangers F C, the library and link staff, and the Infants School for their co-operation.
Through our web page we shall keep the community up to date on progress.
Updates
Jan 2010 - John Summerfield, Chairman of the Old School Hall Committee.
At last the project is nearing completion. In the summer we took the decision not to regularly update the website because we had encountered unforeseen problems. Had we reported each month as intended it would have been a sad and sorry tale and could have become a conduit for our frustration.
The expected completion date was September 2009. The floors of the infants’ toilets, buggy park and entrance, and store room had to be level with the floor of the back room. This meant more excavation and advice from a structural engineer. He thought it expedient to underpin the flanking buildings and this added time and a cost to the project.
The primary cause of delays to construction was the discovery of a gas line running between The Ark and The Old School Hall. As soon as it was exposed building work had to be rescheduled. We were not permitted to temporarily infill the trench. It was not until 18th September [just after the expected time of completion] that we were able to get contractors on to the site to cap the supply.
It was clear before work began that the final cost would exceed estimates. In May we were fortunate to obtain a loan from ACRE’s Village Hall Fund to enable us to start and give us time to find other sources of money. Meanwhile our application to the LEADER Programme was quietly cooking and it came to the boil on 6th July.
Our bid to the LEADER Programme also included requests for help with fitting out three new store rooms and modifying the kitchen to enable two groups to use it simultaneously.
Nov 2009 - John Summerfield, Chairman of the Old School Hall Committee.
Openings have been made for access to the new annex from the meeting room. Work on the kitchen is complete. The meeting room is decorated and we are waiting for blinds to be fitted and the floor to be renovated and sealed. Jill Higgins, a senior designer with a London based company, volunteered her services as consultant on colour schemes for the meeting room, hall, toilets and buggy park/reception area. The meeting room was a challenge because we wanted it to double as a lovely light and airy space for small children during the day and be appropriate for adults in the evenings.
The builders [SGD Construction Ltd] have knocked through from the annex into the main hall and shortly after Christmas it should be possible to dismantle and remove the temporary wall.
From the New Year we expect to be able to operate both rooms. We welcome the return to The Old School Hall of two users who have suffered considerable inconvenience: 2nd Winterton Scouts and Winterton & District Gardeners Club. Both were forced to find temporary accommodation elsewhere. We are grateful for their considerable patience and understanding.
Panda Play staff have spent hundreds of hours moving furniture and equipment in and out of the main hall, which they have shared with other users. They never complain and their excitement about the new facilities for the play group has helped us to get through difficult times.
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