Tockholes Community Hall
previously known as the "Tockholes Village Hall" or just the "Village Hall" has been the centre of village social life for many years.
A typical social function in the Hall
To see what is happening at the hall or book the hall for your function, click here
If you are hiring the Hall for a cabaret or nightclub type function this floor plan may help you decide how best to set out the tables & chairs to seat the maximum number of people and still have room for the band and space to dance.
An imposing stone structure with history dating back to the 19th century, this building has recently (2006) been the centre of controversy.
The building is owned by the United Reform Church (Chapel) and until the end of 2005 was leased from the Chapel by Blackburn Council to provide Tockholes with a centre for social and municipal activities. Amongst other activities, the Parish Council, Garden club, Toddlers group, Youth club meet here, elections are held here, special Village events are held here, birthday parties and other celebrations are held here, walkers meet here and the Tockholes Village Committee hold social events here.
When Blackburn Council decided not to renew the lease for the building, the Village was left with no community centre for anything. The Chapel offered to lease the Hall to the Village Hall Committee, as it was known at the time, but the Committee felt that it was too onerous a task to have to raise funding for rent and running expenses for the Hall before getting on with its job of charity fund raising for the Village. This left the Chapel no alternative than to put the building up for sale.
However when it was known that only 28 days remained before the Hall was to be sold, a novel approach to finding the rent was proposed. This involved raising the rent by way of a small annual levy on the villagers. An average increase of about £10 per household on the council tax will fund the rent through the Parish precept. This levy is collected by the borough council and paid annually to the Parish Council who in turn pay the rent for the Hall to the Chapel. This amounts to about 10 pence per villager per week to assure the future of the Hall. If, for any reason in the future, the Hall is no longer needed, the levy is dis-continued.
UPDATE - 30th NOV 2006
The proposal has now been communicated to every household in the Village (as well as some outside the Village) and only 2 people have written to the Parish Council to object. No one has offered a better suggestion as to how we can raise the rent and so it seems that the overwhelming majority of Villagers are in favour. The Parish Council and the Village Committee will now proceed to negotiate a lease for the Hall with the Chapel.
This proposal has raised several questions which we will try to answer here -
Q - why did Blackburn Council decide not to renew the lease on the Hall?
A - After leasing the Hall to Blackburn Council for many years at a very nominal rent, the Chapel synod asked Blackburn Council for a fair rent. Blackburn Council stated that the Hall was not used enough to justify the increase in rent. However, the more cynical of us might surmise that Blackburn council, being millions of pounds in debt and trying to save money wherever it could, neglected the maintenance on the Hall thus making it unattractive and unsafe for use. To see the general state of the decor click here
Q - how much extra council tax will I have to pay?
A - this depends on how much you pay at the moment. It is expected that villagers who live in property in the higher council tax bands will pay an extra £15 or £20 a year, whereas those in the lower bands will pay £5 or less. If you are exempt from paying council tax you won't pay anything.
Q - if I don't use the Hall will I still have to pay the extra tax?
A - yes. Even if you personally have never been in the Hall, others such as the Parish Council, will still have to use the Hall on your behalf.
Q - is the Hall now fit for use?
A - yes. The Chapel has spent several thousands of pounds refurbishing the building, fitting new windows and painting the outside woodwork. The Village Committee raised the money to fit a new kitchen. However, the interior of the Hall could do with a "facelift" in the form of modernisation and re-decoration. This is where you can help, so, please contact any Committee member and let them know what ideas you have for help.
Q - will I still be able to rent the Hall for a birthday party, or similar?
A - yes. The Hall will still be available rent free for any Village organisation and others will still be able to hire the Hall at a very reasonable rate, as it has always been. Any organisation using the Hall will have to contribute to the expenses incurred in the use of the hall, such as electricity for heating in winter or cleaning if it is needed after use of the Hall.
Q - is this just a proposal or is it actually in place?
A - at the moment it is a proposal which will be implemented over the next few months as the details of the lease are finalised.
UPDATE - 16th JAN 2007
A Meeting between TVC, Parish Council and United Reform Church to negotiate a lease for the Hall, resulted in the following general understanding -
GENERAL
For the past few years, the activities promoted by the Village Hall
Committee and the use of the Hall in general, have been in a steady decline.
This has mainly to be due to the uncertainty of the Hall’s future,
particularly since Blackburn Council withdrew support and then funding for the
Hall. A proposal to reverse this decline, and secure the Hall for the
foreseeable future, is to fund the renting of the hall through the Council Tax
by way of the Parish precept. In this way the rent is collected automatically
each year and paid to the Church by the Parish Council. The Parish Council will
select a committee (TVC) to negotiate the lease and manage the Hall. One member
of this committee is to be nominated by the Church, to represent the Churches
interest. This will secure the future of the Hall for local Church members and
the rest of the village to use as previously.
PARTICULARS
The Hall - The Hall referred to is the main building, outhouses and car park, etc.,
commonly known as Tockholes Community Hall.
The lease to be agreed between the Parish Council and the Church is to
be of the form of an “arms length” landlord and tenant relationship where
the Church is the landlord and the Parish Council is the tenant.
The Church will maintain the fabric of the building, insure, licence and allow the TVC to use the Hall for such purposes as agreed fit & proper for a community hall.
The TVC (on behalf of the Parish Council) will be responsible for the interior of the building(s) and will maintain the interior decoration and those fixtures & fittings which do not form part of the landlords fittings (decorative lighting, kitchen appliances, loose tables, chairs, cupboards, etc.). The TVC will insure against public liability, all events organised by the TVC, and pay all expenses (electricity, water, cleaning, etc.) incurred in using the Hall.
The Rent - The rent will be paid by the Parish Council to the Church in 2 parts –
1. a fixed amount of £2000 to be paid each year at the beginning of May
2. 15% of all rent collected by the TVC from sub-letting the building will be paid 6 monthly in arrears as the amount is known and calculated.
3. The Church will donate the first years rent to the TVC to help pay for internal refurbishment and re-decoration of the Hall.
Duration of Lease - The lease is to run from the 1st of April 2007 for a minimum of 2 years (to allow both parties to assess the viability of the contract) and be renewable by agreement 5 yearly thereafter.
Next Steps - The church will instruct solicitors to draw up a lease for final agreement and then signing, hopefully before the end of April 2007
UPDATE - 8th Mar 2007 - Draft lease received by TVC for consideration on behalf of the Parish Council. The TVC members and the Parish Clerk are to comment back to the Church's solicitors asap, and any comments incorporated into the lease prior to signing.
UPDATE - 23rd April 2007 - final draft lease presented to Tockholes Parish Council for agreement.
UPDATE - 15th May 2007The Parish Council is waiting for a response from the LAPTC to a (hopefully final) question and then both parties can sign the lease.
UPDATE - 4th June 2007 - The Parish Council agreed to sign the lease. We are now waiting on the Church solicitors sending the formal lease for signing
UPDATE - 19th June 2007 - The Parish Council signed the lease
Finally, after many months of negotiation & pouring over the small print
Two members signed the lease on behalf of the Parish Council signifying the go ahead for the Village to take control of it’s own Community Hall.
The TVC can now go ahead with raising funds to spend on bringing the Hall back up to standard suitable for 21st century use. Well, as close as Tockholes Community Hall can get to the 21st century. The Hall has been re-painted on the outside, by the Church, and now the drive is on to have the interior refurbished and so encourage villagers to use the Hall again. The Hall is not expected to be used as much over the summer months but hopefully will look fresh & new in time for the Christmas parties.
UPDATE - September 2007 - The dividing wall in the entrance has been erected making the entrance look smaller but providing much needed storage room, and the old stage has been removed making the main hall much bigger.
UPDATE - 7th Dec 2007 - Crown Paints kindly donated several tins of paint for us to begin the re-painting of the Hall
UPDATE - 12th Jan 2008 - the start of re-painting is held for repairs to the Hall roof which is leaking when it rains (when doesn't it rain in Tockholes). We are informed that the Chapel cannot fund any repairs this financial year and probably not until at least April or May 2008.