Needham Village Hall Management Committee.

Report to Needham Parish Council Annual Meeting 2017

Committee members are to be congratulated for the achievements of the last year.  Highlights were the highly successful party held in June to celebrate the Queen’s 90^th birthday supported by a grant obtained from South Norfolk Council and also the traditional summer barbeque.  Both these events were blessed with dry weather and were well supported by village residents.  

The challenge we face in the coming year is to translate that interest from residents into support for the Village Hall Committee.  This is particularly needed as three committee members have stood down since the last Annual Meeting.  We are currently without a Treasurer and help is also needed in managing bookings.  We are in the difficult position of owning a facility that is much admired and used by the wider community but fails to receive the necessary support from within the village.  It was noticeable that at two recent events held at the Hall, intended to draw in Needham residents, attendance was almost exclusively from outside the village.  

We are encouraged by the work of Needham Action Group in planning to create a new community play area on Townsland Trust land behind the Hall, but without support for the Management Committee the future of the Hall itself is in doubt.

Nevertheless, on a more mundane level the committee has continued to care for the maintenance and improvement of the Hall, most noticeably in the erection of the new storage shed in the grounds.