New village hall for Nyewood after 12 year wait

The new Henry Warren Village Hall is fully accessible, it meets the highest standards of sustainability and efficiency as well as all of the planning requirements of the South Downs National Park and it will provide a much needed community facility for this growing village where there is no church, shop nor pub.The original hall was gifted to Nyewood, West Sussex by the widow of Commander Henry Warren, Royal Navy in his memory and for nearly 100 years it served as a welcoming building for all.

The hall is run by a Charitable Trust and when first built, it was in open country but that site has now been surrounded by housing and unfortunately it has not been possible to build the new hall on the original site.

Nyewood has grown and a larger building required a bigger plot and consequently the new hall is in a new position on the northern edge of the village. As this was a “green field” site, much debate with the South Downs National Park planners was necessary before a final design could be approved.For the past 12 years, when the original Henry Warren Hall in Nyewood was declared structurally unsafe, Nyewood has been without a community facility as there is neither church, shop nor pub.

However after much discussion and advice, and many setbacks, the new hall is finally ready and the opening ceremony will take place on Saturday December 17.

The people of Nyewood, benefactors and friends will be present when Mrs Sue Wright (widow of the late Chairman of Trustees) declares the building open for business.The completed new hall is fully accessible, has a main function area with seating for a maximum of 80, a cosy meeting room that doubles as a licensed bar and a spacious kitchen fitted to professional catering standards.

The meeting room/bar and function area can be opened to provide a large space. Within the building, wiring for integral video, audio, internet access and Wi-Fi has been installed and we anticipate that local businesses will use these capabilities for “away days” and meetings. There is adequate parking on site (including disabled parking), a bicycle rack and outdoor space for socialising in warmer weather.

The building has been constructed to the highest standards of efficiency and sustainability and a bank of solar panels will supply much of the power requirement. We therefore intend to make the hall available to local people in the event of power outages as a warm haven.

The building has been completed within budget and without having to bid for scarce local authority or charitable funding. Some funding for the fittings in the hall (kitchen equipment and furniture) have been received from Chichester District Council and from Harting Parish Council, and in addition, some generous local benefactors have stepped in to offer financial support for other equipment.

For all of these, the Trustees have been most grateful.