Late in 2005, a joint meeting of the Parish Council, Village Hall Management Committee and Memorial Ground Trust agreed to set up a working group with three representatives from each party, with the object of having exploratory talks regarding a Community Building on the Memorial Ground. During the course of 2006 this team have met on regular occasions and made a formal presentation to the village to accept the proposal:

' Does the village support the attempt to develop a project for a single community building, providing both village hall and pavilion facilities, to be located on the memorial ground and the necessary changes to the two charities involved to allow this to happen effectively'.

In April 2006 - this was accepted by the village with a huge majority vote.

However, despite some very dedicated work from those involved it took a long time to reach a stage where all parties were content with the broad arrangements that needed to be put in place, funds were earmarked, buildings designed, plans approved, and so on. (Some of the early history can be seen by clicking here.)

Fast-forward to 2012, and at a village meeting on 20th March an overwhelming number of those voting approved the current Steering Committee's proposals and gave the go-ahead for proceeding to actual construction, with a possibility of actually breaking ground in the autumn.

Further reports can be found below, after the section on Trustees, Bookings, and Contacts, in "most recent first" order.

Trustees

The running of the Memorial Trust is the responsibility of its Trustees, who are:

Sid Roberts (Chairman)
Anne Baker
Berny Higgins
Geoff Mortimer
Linda Palmer
Leo Randall

Bookings, Contacts

To book the MUGA (Multi-Use Games Area), please see the Village Shop. To book any of the pitch facilities on the Memorial Ground or the Memorial Centre, contact: whiteparish.memorial.booking@hotmail.com.. For a guide to Memorial Centre hire costs, click here.

For any other queries or points, please phone Chairman Sid Roberts on 01794-884462.

The building is finished and the landscaping outside is almost complete—so Trustees have turned their thoughts to an opening ceremony. We are pleased to announce that the Whiteparish Memorial Centre will be officially opened by His Royal Highness Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, on 3rd June 2014 at 3.30. The Duke will be accompanied by the Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire: Mrs Sarah Rose Troughton.

Everyone is invited to the Memorial Ground to watch His Royal Highness unveil a plaque to commemorate the opening. Trustees will shortly be inviting user groups to nominate representatives, who will be able to meet the Duke as he tours the building. Please come along and help us mark the event!

It's been a long time coming - Trustees have finally taken possession of the new Memorial Centre building.

The Trust AGM was held on Saturday 25th January and a full report can be found on the village website www.whiteparish.co.uk.

Work on landscaping around the building and to restore the Memorial Ground to its' former glory will continue for several weeks - some dryer weather would be big help!

Trustees know there will lots of little wrinkles over the first few months and we look forward to working with all the users to iron out and find a way forward. We are enormously grateful for all the support we have received during the construction - not least about the impact in the car park. With less 'white vans around, life should return to something more normal.

As a building site, it has not been possible for people to get inside the building. Now the building is open, Trustees would love to invite you to come and visit the Memorial Centre - on Sunday 2 February between 2pm and 4pm. Come and have a cup of tea with us and take a look round. Trustees will be on hand to answer any questions about why it is designed the way it is (there will be a reason...). We are sure that everyone will have an opinion - just remember, it's an impossible task to satisfy everyone, all of the time. We've just done our very best.

Despite the massive amount of work completed in the last few weeks, Trustees are disappointed to report that they were not able to take possession of the building on 20 December.

The Main Hall will have a solid oak floor and before it can be laid - the building needs to have a humidity and temperature within certain tolerances. To operate the heating system, we needed the electricity and the water supply to be switched on'. Trustees were advised by SSE they needed a new supply (rather than utilise that for the old Pavilion). The man arrived to fit the meter - and he had a different reference number from the new three phase supply on the pole down by the football pitch. He left without fitting the meter - and only came back on 11 December. The new water supply to the building needed chlorination and all the necessary certificates were issued - unfortunately Wessex Water promised a variety of dates to come and connect the pipe to the main supply in Common Road. They eventually turned up on 18 December, connected the water supply and as an added bonus - managed to demolish the car park wall.

All of this meant the temperature and humidity were outside the required tolerance and we then missed our slot with the firm laying the floor. They will be back in the new year and the plan now says the building—and the outside areas—will all be handed over at the same time - by 24 January.

Just in time for the Trust AGM on Saturday 25 January at 10am. Do come along; you'll be able to take a quick look around the new building—although Trustees will be offering that opportunity again at the end of January.

Trustees are very conscious of the disruption in the Memorial Ground car park and around the area in general. We would like to thank the whole village for their patience and tolerance during the construction. We hope that you will agree—the building will have been worth the hassle.

Work is proceeding and Trustees have started taking bookings for the Memorial Centre -from 20 January 2014.

The Main Hall will be slightly larger than the old village hall. The Cowesfield Room will be a smaller room that could seat about 50 people in theatre style and will have direct access onto the Memorial Ground through two pairs of glazed doors. Both rooms will be accessed from the main lobby area and have a hatch to/from the kitchen.

Trustees have spent a lot of time developing a budget for the running costs of the new building. We have listed all the different costs expected and made estimates based on consultations with other village halls, suppliers and our professional advisers. With all of this information we have set the hiring charges for the Memorial Centre as follows:

The roof on the Main Hall is complete, including guttering; there is less scaffolding and the focus has shifted to the roof on the front and side areas. During September, work on the fit out inside will start, as Trustees have now chosen everything from kitchen units to paint colours.

Although progress continues, Trustees are disappointed that some sub contractors to the main contractor have caused delays in the build programme. A detailed review of the remaining work programme has projected that the building will be handed over to Trustees on 23 December - four weeks behind the original programme plan.

Trustees will look to make the building available for hiring from 20 January 2014. If you want to register interest in hiring any part of the Memorial Centre, please contact Linda Palmer on palmerlinda@hotmail.co.uk, with your requested date and time.

You can see a library of photos showing the construction progress to date on the village website whiteparish.co.uk.

Trustees are also looking to fill the roles of caretaker, cleaner and booking clerk. If you are interested, please contact any of the Trustees who have a brief job description for each role.

The roof is proceeding well and masonry is almost complete! The eagle eyed amongst you might have noticed that some outside walls are made of grey breeze blocks - these will eventually be clad with cedar to 'soften' the look of the building and help it blend in to the surroundings.

The plan to dig a trench through the car park to install the sewer pipe has been delayed - Trustees are still waiting for the Southern Water contractor to make the application to Wiltshire Council. It is very likely that the work will happen after the end of the quieter holiday period and Trustees can only apologise for any disruption.

The project is currently 10 days behind schedule and the Trustees and Rigg will work hard to try and recover that time over the next two months.

Trustees are starting to think about life when the building is finished. There will be opportunities for a cleaner and caretaker and if you think you might be interested, please contact any of the Trustees who can give you more information.

Following the recent excavations in the car park, Trustees are delighted to report that gas was successfully installed and water and BT ducts have been laid. We are very grateful for everyone's forbearance during the works.

Observers will notice that brickwork continues. The scaffolding will rise in August to allow brickwork to be completed to the eaves and work start on the roof.

Electricity to the Memorial Centre will be delivered from the pole at the football pitch end of the Memorial Ground. This will require a trench to be dug to allow SSE to lay their cables. Excavation work started at the end of July and we expect the work be completed and the trench backfilled by 9th August. There is a small caveat - in that if there is an "emergency", it is possible that SSE could divert resources, with a delay in laying their cable and backfilling the trench.

The sewage pipe for the Centre will need to be laid in a trench - which will require some further excavation in the car park. At the time of writing, Trustees do not have a definite date from Southern Water. Trustees and their contractor - Rigg, are trying to get the work completed during the main holiday period - so that impact is reduced in the car park and on Common Road when the pipe is connected to the Main Sewer. As soon as Trustees have more details, we will provide an update on the village website.

After what seemed a long time with little progress, July will see significant changes in the building. All the floors are now laid and brickwork has started. During July, brickwork will get to about first floor level, after scaffolding has been erected.

Work to install the various utilities will also start this month. Southern Gas is insisting that a trench is dug for the whole length of the car park - in one go. The excavation work will start on Monday 1 July, ready for Southern Gas to arrive and lay their pipe starting Monday 8 July. Once Southern Gas has finished, Rigg Construction will work hard to backfill the trench as quickly as possible and restore the car park. However, there will be a significant impact on the capacity of the car park for those two weeks. This will be a difficult time for regular usersof the car park and Trustees apologise for the inconvenience.

Users of the MUGA will have noticed that the moss has been cleared and the area sprayed to (hopefully!) contain further growth. Trustees have also made repairs and serviced the equipment in the children's play area and skateboard ramp.

Progress continues to plan! In May the steel frame for the Main Hall was erected - and the ground prepared for the floor. This meant scouring the ground to make it absolutely level and building wooden shuttering around the floor area. The large white blocks were installed to absorb any heave in the clay soils and the concrete was poured on site, reinforced with seven tonnes of steel rods.

The rest of the building is a traditional build and Trustees have chosen bricks from Michelmersh to blend in with the Surgery. Scaffolding and brickwork starts in June along with excavation for the soakaways and drainage.

Visitors to the Memorial Ground may have also noticed that the cricket square grass has been cut. Sport England and the Contractor are pleased with progress and will continue with a programme of maintenance throughout the summer months. Trustees are very grateful for the forbearance and support of the village.

Work started on 18 February and the 'eagle eyed' will have noticed the Pavilion has been demolished, the area cleared and ground works have started, to level the site area.

Our consultant ecologist arrived on site and asked for a number of amendments to be made to the management of the site during construction and in respect of the storage area at the rear of the building. Ail of this has now been agreed and work has started again in earnest.

During April, ground levelling will be completed and soil excavated for the foundations. We will also see the start of drainage works and steel fabrication for the building itself. There will be increased traffic during this phase as muck lorries take soil away and other lorries bring in concrete and steel. This will cause unavoidable inconvenience and the Contractor is working with the lorry drivers to minimise disruption as much as possible. Trustees are very grateful for your patience and your support during this month.

At the Trust AGM on 19 January, the final stage in the merger of the Village Hall Trust and the Memorial Ground Trust was completed with the appointment of Trustees for the new charitable trust - the Whiteparish Memorial Trust. These Trustees are:
Sid Roberts, Geoff Mortimer and Berny Higgins nominated by the various users groups and Leo Randall, Anne Baker and Linda Palmer nominated by the Parish Council.

At the first meeting of the Trust, Sid was appointed Chairman, Anne as Secretary and Linda as Treasurer.. By now, everyone in the village should have received a copy of the document giving details of progress to build the Memorial Centre. Trustees will make sure that everyone can follow the progress of the construction through regular updates and pictures on the village website www.whiteparish.co.uk.

If you would like another copy, please contact any Trustee: Sid Roberts [884462]; Anne (884343); Linda [884737]; Berny [884846); Geoff (884850) or Leo (884881).

This point in the project is a major milestone and represents the culmination of a lot of work over many years, by many, many people. The Trustees would like to say thank you to anyone and everyone who has helped the project get here. We can all feel rightly proud of ourselves and look forward to the new building by the end of this year.

On 18th February 2013, the contractors formally arrived, to start the planned 40-week construction programme for the new Memorial Centre on the site of the old pavilion. During the previous week, a "progress report" from the trustees was being hand-delivered around the parish, so if you live in Whiteparish you may well have a copy by now. It includes information on the merger of the two charitable Trusts; the costs of the new building; the latest funding position and the project timelines. Just in case you live within the parish and didn't receive a copy, you can download the same document (in pdf format) by clicking here, and then print your own copy if you wish.

In the document, the trustees thank all those who have made donations so far towards the new Centre, and explain why more funds still need to be raised. If you would like to contribute, please download and print the report as just mentioned, complete the Donation Form on page 4, and return it using the instructions on the form.

The AGM of the Whiteparish Memorial Trust was held on Saturday January 19th 2013 in the Village Hall. The new trust now has its own page on the website; to go to it, click here.

On 10th September 2012, work started on moving and reorienting the cricket square. The photos show (clockwise from top left) loosening the top layer of the sacred turf; big pile of topsoil accumulated on first day, for re-use; extent of progress by the end of day 2; and finally the grass seed, already sown by the end of day 4!.

The project is still on course to start in October.

We are now awaiting tenders from nine different builders.

We now need you—the people of Whiteparish—to donate money to fill the funding gap.

There is a donation form on the back of the August issue of Steeple & Street. Please help us with this final effort to achieve this fantastic new facility for our village. Later, for those who prefer to spread their donation over a period of time, we will be offering another opportunity to help. We need money now! Many thanks.

We would be happy to answer any questions.
Linda Palmer (884737); Peter Jones (885785); Colin Bray (884882); Sheila Campbell (884837).

The photo shows Wessex Water Area Scientist Sophie Crew presenting a very welcome cheque for £450 to Parish Council Chairman Trevor King at a little ceremony on Monday 13th August 2012, on the Memorial Ground. The cheque accompanied a "Wessex Watermark" certificate, and recognised the work being undertaken to safequard the pond near the Memorial Centre site.

Also in the photo are (left to right) Sheila Campbell, Mrs Kath Campbell, Geoff and Pat Mortimer, Parish Council vice-chairman John LeQuesne, Robert Pennington (son of Parish Clerk Maria Pennington), Linda Palmer, and Parish Councillor Leo Randall.

The first focus group met on 4 May to discuss the details of the kitchen, lobby, toilets and cleaner’s store, over a cup of tea. Six ladies had volunteered to work with the project team. Thanks to everyone involved.

4 April saw the first-ever joint meeting of the Village Hall Trust and the Memorial Ground Trust. A major milestone.

The two Trusts agreed to work together, to prepare the detailed design that will be used (to create a Bill Of Quantities for) when we invite potential contractors to tender for the construction contract. The Project Team will hold focus groups over the next few weeks to look at specific areas of the building. If you are interested in being involved, please contact Linda Palmer on 884737.

Local businesses who might be interested in tendering for the work are encouraged to look at the draft list of criteria that we have drawn up for selecting contractors who will be invited to tender; click here for more details.

In the meantime, fundraising has started in earnest. We have secured an award of £14,500 from Wiltshire Village Hall Grant Scheme and our own Garden Club have raised a fantastic £500 from their event, back in March. Thanks to everyone who has helped with either of these initiatives.

Over 190 people joined the Trustees of the Village Hall Trust & The Memorial Ground Trust along with the Project Working Group to find out about the latest position of the project.

• Planning Approval has been given for the re-designed Memorial Centre which is a major step forward.
• Trustees explained the benefits of the Memorial Centre for people of all ages and interests – many of which are impossible or prohibitively expensive to achieve in the current facilities.
• The two Trusts presented on the proposals to sell a small plot of land at the edge of the Memorial Ground, which is unsuitable for recreational purposes and eventually, the Village Hall site. Proceeds of both sales would contribute to the Memorial Centre build costs.

The audience had the opportunity to ask questions of all Trustees and the Working Group. Topics included the projected construction costs; car parking, the anticipated running costs, and the likely timescales for the project. Trustees admitted that some issues such as interim arrangements for sports changing facilities will need to be discussed further, once the Village have voted in favour of the project.

The subsequent vote on the three resolutions of 96% in favour proved there is overwhelming support for the Memorial Centre. The results were as follows:.

Next steps: The Trustees of both Trusts will move to the Detailed Design Stage. There are many details of the building to be determined and agreed with the Planning Authority before going to tender with interested contractors. This period also offers time to involve the clubs and user groups to discuss details that would support their respective activities.

For any further information, please contact Linda Palmer (01794 884737); Sheila Campbell (01794 884837) or Anne Baker (01794 884343).