Built and opened in 1920 following gift of the land by Henry John Campion Winterton.

Known then as the Memorial Hall to the first world war, then the second world war and more recently known as Wolvey Village Hall; it has previously been used as a doctor’s surgery; local police station and is still used as the local polling station.

Wolvey Village Hall is now over 100 years old. 

Over the years additions have been made to the original building to provide improved toilet and kitchen facilities and a small meeting room and storage room to the rear.

Structurally the original building remains mainly unchanged.  The original building has been rendered with damp proofing installed and the front main entrance altered when the stage was constructed.

The main building is now showing its age and problems with energy conservation, and consequent heating costs, are recognised and require action. Associated with the energy conservation are the remedial works required to deal with dampness to the walls.

Options

The Committee considered 3 options:

1. To demolish the existing building and rebuild on the current site.
2. To sell the building and land and use the funds to rebuild on a new site within the village.
3. To retain the existing building by carrying out improvement works to deal with faults identified and to improve the existing facilities/layout by renewal or adaptation.  

The option chosen was to retain the existing building and carry out improvement works. 

Decision Process

The considerations taken into account for each of the options was as follows:

To demolish and rebuild on the current site.

• The site is constricted and there is little, if any, scope to significantly alter layout. 
• A new building will require planning permission, which will introduce requirements that do not currently affect the operation of the village hall. This could result in a significant reduction in the size and operation of the building. i.e. the number of car parking spaces will need to be increased. There was concern that new limitations as to noise and restrictions on opening hours can be imposed as part of planning application approval. This would also add a considerable amount of time to the project. Rugby Borough Council had been approached for pre application advice.
• The cost will be prohibitive, and reliance will be placed on obtaining very large grants to make the scheme viable. Given the size of the building to be reconstructed obtaining sufficient grant funding to meet the costs would be difficult and if the village hall required to match fund our reserves will prove insufficient.

To sell the building and use the funds to build on a new site.

• The Committee considered alternative locations; however no suitable sites were identified.
•  The original hall was built as a memorial to those who fought and those who lost their lives in the first world war and adopted also following the second world war and this should be protected and maintained.
• The location of the village hall in the centre of Wolvey was considered to be the most important for ease of access, especially for those with limited mobility.
• Relocating and safeguarding the Village Hall interests as an independent CIO may not have been possible.

To retain and improve the existing Village Hall,

• The land for the village hall site was donated for the construction of a Memorial Hall and the Committee considered it important to retain the initial purpose of the village hall as a facility in honour of those local residents who had served the country.
• Financially this is the cheapest option. The proposed works may be divided into blocks of works and the works can be prioritised and undertaken as funds and grants permit.
• To preserve the traditional structure and design of the hall.
• To increase the thermal capacity of the building fabric and remove damp ingress and provide better airflow including, sealing the external render and colour coating.
• Add security and safety measures including new doors and windows etc… increasing disabled access, review and update, where required, electrics and heating, to refit the kitchen(s) and toilets, to redesign the back room and storage to create a new room with potential for a community café / garden access and update the stage lighting and sound system to encourage further use.
• Re-level and re-pave the external pathways and carpark.
• It was considered that the proposed works will provide good and enhanced facilities for the foreseeable future. 
• By breaking down the works into packages it is envisaged that obtaining grants will be easier.
• It was considered that the feeling from the village residents was a preference for the village hall to remain at its current location. This was demonstrated at the recent open forum at the Christmas lights event.
• The existing location in the centre of the village cannot be improved.