Decade long campaign to open Barrowden Community Hub comes to fruition as ribbon cut on £800,000 venue

A decade-long campaign was celebrated today (Friday, March 21) as a new community venue was officially opened.

Rutland and Stamford MP Alicia Kearns (Con) cut the ribbon on the Barrowden Community Hub after a 10-year drive by villagers to replace its 98-year-old rundown predecessor.

The new hub, which opened to the public earlier this year, features a 125-person capacity main hall, which can be divided into two separate spaces, and includes a digital projector and mobile PA system.

It also boasts a kitchen, storeroom, toilets, and car park, and is powered by solar panels and heat pumps.

“We are very proud of what we have done,” said Paul Diver, chairman of the Village Hall Development Group.

“This is a very emotional moment for me and this wonderful group of people. It has been a real team effort.”

Villagers set up the Barrowden Village Hall CIO charity which secured £300,000 from the government’s Community Ownership Fund and a £250,000 National Lottery grant.

Further grants from charitable trusts, donations and a public works loan took the tally beyond £800,000 with further fundraising still ongoing to add more equipment and towards loan repayments.

The previous timber-framed building served the village well, taking 300 bookings a year, but was condemned in 2015.

An initial £1.5 million scheme to replace it with a building to house the village hall, surgery and shop was ended by the covid pandemic when funding was lost.

But scaled-back plans for a new village hall were launched in 2022.

The official opening took place exactly a year since the National Lottery grant was awarded.

“It’s been an incredible journey,” Paul added.

“We had a lot of naysayers who just didn’t believe that we would ever going to raise the money but we had a level of confidence and we managed it.

“We are already getting more interest for more bookings.”

As well as use by community groups, classes, entertainment and events, the group behind the new hall will work with the health authority and Rutland County Council to host health and wellbeing initiatives.

Alicia, a long-time supporter of the campaign, said her own children will use the hall and benefit from it.

“This is what the community is about - creating space to come together,” she said.

“This is testament to the heart the amazing people here and how patient and determined they have been.”