Peldon Village Hall – Contract Awarded

New Peldon VIllage Hall — Coming Soon – Contract Awarded

Peldon Village Hall – Contract Awarded

Stroods Specialist Contractors appointed to rebuild Peldon Village Hall

Peldon Village Hall Management Committee announces that its preferred contractor to build the new village hall in Peldon is Stroods Specialist Contractors of West Mersea.

Bob Holmes, PVH Treasurer, said:

After an extensive tendering process, Stroods emerged as the clear winners with a proposal that met our budget expectations. We’re delighted that, after several years spent working on the project, we’ve reached the stage when the building work is about to start and that we’ve been able to appoint a local firm with a good reputation for efficient delivery and strong connections to our village.

Lee Tyler, Director of Stroods, commented:

We’re very pleased to have been selected to carry out this project to replace a critical community asset with an exciting new building that will be of great benefit to the residents of Peldon and the surrounding area for many years to come. We’re looking forward to working with the Management Committee in the coming months.

The Management Committee expects work to start on site in November with the new hall completed by the summer of 2017.

Funding the project

The total project cost, including professional fees, will be around £500,000. The majority of the costs are coming from grants awarded by:

Essex County Council’s Community Initiative Fund,
the Abberton Reservoir Community Fund, and
Colchester Borough Council’s Big Choice Fund.

The remaining funds are coming from money raised by the Village Hall’s many fundraising activities over the last 6 years, including its recent Buy-a-Brick appeal which remains open, and from commitments from residents to lend the hall any final remaining funds by investing in PVH Bonds.

The Management Committee would like to express their sincere thanks to the grant funders and to all residents whose support over the years has made the project possible.

Farewell Party – October 30th

But, before demolition, there will be one last event in the hall, a farewell party on October 30th from 5.00pm to 9.00pm. The entertainment will be provided by the Crissy Lee All Stars featuring Paul Wood. Paul is the singer with the Glen Miller Orchestra; his repertoire includes Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Sammy Davies Jr and Michael Buble among many others. As well as a licensed bar there will be teas, coffees, snacks and cakes for sale.

With limited numbers you should book early, tickets are £8.00 each. To book them contact Bob Holmes on 01206 735510 or [email protected].

Bob Holmes
Peldon Village Hall Management Committee

10th February 20163rd May 2016

Colchester’s Big Choice – Vote Now!

Peldon Village Hall’s bid for Colchester’s “ Big Choice ” funding needs your support!!!!

Great news! – the project to rebuild Peldon Village Hall is one of 12 shortlisted projects that are competing for a share of £200,000 of funding being provided by Colchester Borough Council to provide funds for community projects in the Borough under its “ Big Choice ” scheme. Colchester residents will decide who the winning projects are by voting for their favourites. Voting will be open between Monday 22 February and Friday 4 March, and the winning projects will be announced the following week.

We have pitched for £50,000 of the funding. If we are successful, this money, together with the money we’ve already raised, should be enough to allow us to start rebuilding our hall (at last!). But whether or not we’ll succeed depends on how many people vote for our project when the voting opens. So it’s really important that we mobilise as much support as we can.

We’re working hard to ensure that our project is promoted widely throughout the Borough. Please support us when voting opens and pass on this message to your friends, relations and anyone else you know who lives in the Borough.

The Council will be promoting the scheme during the next 4 weeks, so look out for it in the local press and on radio. You can see who we’re competing against by visiting www.colchester.gov.uk/bigchoice where all 12 projects are listed.

I’ll be sending out more information about how to cast your vote before voting opens, but if you’d like to know more about what we’re doing or are able to help us in any way, please get in touch with me on 01206 735510 or [email protected].

Thanks for your support!

Bob Holmes
Peldon Village Hall Management Committee

1st February 20163rd May 2016

Sport Relief Grants

Sport Relief Community Cash grant

Apply now for a Sport Relief Community Cash grant

Comic Relief brings Sport Relief Community Cash to North Essex and Suffolk. The Fund is now available, with Essex Community Foundation working with Comic Relief to get the cash to the groups that need it most.

Cash grants of £500 to £1,000 are available to small grassroots community organisations in North Essex (Colchester, north Braintree and Tendring) that are doing great work to help local people living tough lives. It is not only sporting projects or organisations that can apply, but groups across the whole of the community.

Applications for Sport Relief Community Cash need to be submitted by Monday 15th February 2016. Interested groups should click here for the grant criteria and guidance on how to apply.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Grants Team on 01245 356016 or [email protected] should you have any questions.

Essex Community Foundation are:

an independent charitable trust improving the quality of life of people in our community by investing and distributing funds on behalf of a wide range of donors. Since 1996 our donors have invested £26 million of charitable funding directly into Essex, Southend and Thurrock making it a great place to live, work, learn and grow.

Further information about the Fund is also available at www.essexcommunityfoundation.org.uk

8th January 20163rd May 2016

Energy Switch, Funding & More

Offers to help you join Energy Switch and Funding opportunities are just two of many subjects in the numerous news updates Essex County & Colchester Borough Councils issue every week, the following are extracts that might be of particular interest.

Save hundreds in the Essex Energy Switch

An energy-saving initiative which has already saved Essex residents almost £1 million has reopened for new applications. Register now for the Essex Energy Switch to potentially save hundreds of pounds on your energy bills.

Registration is open till 1 February 2016. After this, energy providers will bid against one another in an auction with the winning bidder being the company offering the lowest price to all applicants. Following last year’s Switch, residents saved approximately £263 per household.

Anyone who pays for energy is eligible to take part. Signing up takes just a few minutes online. Visit www.essex.gov.uk/energyswitch for more information and to find out how to take part.

Funding available for community projects

Colchester’s Big Choice funding application process is now open! Bid for a share of £200,000 to fund new or existing community projects in Colchester. Finalists will be entered into a public vote at the end of February 2016 to decide on the winners.

If you have a project that could be eligible CBC needs to know more about it. Not all applications will go through to the final vote but in order to qualify CBC needs to know who you are, what you do and how your idea will benefit the residents of Colchester Borough.

Completing this online application form will guide you through the information CBC needs so please complete it carefully and take note of the deadlines as CBC has to stick to them. The online application form needs to be completed and received by CBC by 12 noon on the 15th January 2016. Click here to find out more

#InstaEssex – Capturing the culture of Essex

What best describes Essex culture to you? Is it some of our buildings and architecture; our artwork and theatres; local street and contemporary social culture; or perhaps there’s an iconic image you think sums up the county? Whatever it is, the #InstaEssex campaign wants to capture it with a photography competition that’s open to both amateur and professional photographers.

15 winning images will be displayed at London Liverpool Street station and at branch line stations across Essex. From these winners the top three will be awarded cash prizes of £1,000 (first prize), £500 (second prize) and £250 (third prize).

If you’re stuck for inspiration why not take a look at the Explore Culture website. Or if you’d like to brush up on your photography skills, why not take part in one of the #InstaEssex workshops.

If you don’t fancy submitting a photo but still want to share your thoughts, you can join the discussions on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter using #Instaessex. The competition is open until Mon 15 February 2016 so there’s plenty of time to get snapping!

How to avoid a cold (caller) this winter

Free “No Cold Caller” stickers are now available at Essex libraries to help vulnerable people protect themselves from rogue traders.

Local Health Matters Meetings

Taking place twice a month in various parts of the North East Essex area, these meetings are free to attend without prior booking and give you an opportunity to discuss matters of concern or interest to you regarding Local Health matters. The minutes of the recent meeting in Colchester will give you an idea of what they are about:

Boost Your Online Skills

If you were fortunate enough to receive a new smartphone, tablet or PC at Christmas and you’d like help to get online, then why not brush up your IT skills for free at CBC’s digital bazaar events and online drop-in sessions beginning this month and running throughout 2016.

At CBC’s digital bazaar events and online drop in sessions, you are encouraged to bring your own device where you will receive professional help with setting it up.

Computers are available at all of the events and staff are there to support and teach you and undertake tasks such as setting up email addresses. You will also have the opportunity to meet some of CBC’s dedicated multi-skilled Zone Teams who have in-depth knowledge of local areas.

One to One Support

CBC also offer one-to-one support at any of the library hubs across Colchester. To book a free one hour session please complete CBC’s online form or call 01206 282222.

Winter’s on its way

The unseasonal mild spell is coming to an end. Are you ready for wintry conditions on the roads? Keep up to date with road conditions via Essex County Council’s website or Twitter accounts.

Visit ECC’s winter travel web page for useful information about salt bins, salting (gritting) routes and links to other winter-related advice about school closures, flooding alerts and health. Follow @Essex_Travel and @EssexGritters for all the latest winter road updates from Essex County Council on Twitter. ECC does not manage the A12, A120, M11 and M25. Visit the Highways Agency website for information about these roads.

At midday every day during winter a weather report comes in to Essex County Council and the decision is made whether to send gritters out onto the Essex roads. Essex County Council has 59 gritters which grit 2,500 miles of roads in the county using a mixture of salt and brine. Find out how the gritting service works in a feature which appeared in the East Anglian Daily Times this week.

Remember to always drive to the weather conditions to keep safe on the roads this winter.