Norfolk village's new community centre build begins

But now the first spade has been stuck in the ground as building work begins for a new community centre in a village south of Norwich.

Work on plans for the £1m new hall in Stoke Holy Cross began in 2014.

It will be a multipurpose venue that will also be used as the site for the village's pre-school.

Members of Stoke Holy Cross Parish Council, Chaplin Farrant Architects, Draper & Nicholls and the managing director of South Norfolk Council, Trevor Holden, celebrate the start of construction work for the new village hall (Image: Elizabeth Dack)

It will replace the existing pavilion which is no longer suitable due to the growing population of the village, which has seen a number of housing developments built in the surrounding area.

Sandy Collins, chairwoman of the local council, said: "We are delighted to see work on the new hall finally commence. It has been an extremely long and complex process to get this project off the ground."

The hall, which will include a meeting room, a kitchen and toilets, has been funded in part by South Norfolk Council’s co-investment fund as well as Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) payments made to the authority - money that developers have to pay as part of the conditions in place to allow new housing schemes to go ahead.

The old village hall in Stoke Holy Cross (Image: Supplied)

Income from these payments can also be used for things like schools and improvements to roads.

The current pavilion opened in 1983 and, along with the playing fields, is owned and managed by the parish council. 

Plans to knock down and rebuild the village hall were first approved in 2019 and earlier this month councillors approved plans for a temporary modular building in the car park to provide a community space while the new hall is constructed.

The interim structure will be in place for around 12 months, with space for the nursery.