Work starts on community project at St George's Hall, Calshot
22 May 2024
We have started improvement works at St George's Hall, Calshot.
To promote greater use by the local community, the space inside the hall will have a whole new look and feel as the room sizes are changed, and new acoustic flooring is laid, along with a new kitchen, cinema facilities, accessible toilet, complete with a new lick of paint.
Built in the 1910s, the hall was used by the RAF as a chapel serving one of Britain's most important military airfields.
In more recent years, the hall serves the local community, and provides facilities for a youth club, community garden project, and Community Hub and food larder collection. The improvement project will see renovation works carried out on both the inside and outside of the community building.
Councillor Dan Poole, our Portfolio Holder for community, safety, and wellbeing, visited the site on Thursday (16 May 2024) and said, "St George's Hall is a local asset which has a strong identity within the community here. It is the only community facility in the village and is very much valued.
"With a long and important local history, the hall is now in need of this refurbishment so it can serve as an improved and modern hub for Calshot, offering a venue for various events, including cookery classes and film nights. We have listened to local people, and we want every member of the community to share in the success and benefits of the improved facility and for it to play a central part in the lives of everyone living in Calshot."
The works will retain the original character of the building and the separate Chaplain's room, and its stained-glass windows.
The hall will also have improved energy efficiency with the installation of an air source heat pump providing heating and hot water, along with additional insulation and photo-voltaic panels improving the energy performance rating from an F to a B rating.
Improvements to the outdoor space and car park will enhance safety and security, while plans for a community garden will be realised through the planting of fruit trees, external storage, and improved access for people with limited mobility. And, in response to consultation with local young people, there will be a skate ramp, an all-weather shelter, goal posts, and a basketball net.
During the period of works, the hall will be closed for use, and contractors will be on-site until the summer. Access to the cemetery will remain available, and the food larder will continue to operate from the car park, or at the NFDC car park on the approach to the beach.
St George's Hall is due to reopen in September 2024.
The project is part-funded by the UK Government through the Rural England Prosperity Fund, part of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
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