Good news for the villages of Onehouse, Harleston and Shelland and the people of Stowmarket. Thanks to substantial grants received from Viridor Credits and from The National Lottery Community Fund, work has recently started on building a new toilet block at the Trinity Hall, Onehouse.
The work now underway is Phase One of a refurbishment plan to upgrade this much used local facility making it fit-for-purpose for years to come.
The Trinity Hall, owned by the church, is a small building situated in Onehouse, a village on the western outskirts of Stowmarket. Many groups from Onehouse, Harleston and Shelland and beyond regularly use the hall, covering differing interests, from a weekly Community Coffee Morning run by the local Good Neighbours Scheme, to a weekly dog training class and lots more in between.
After several years of planning for a major refurbishment of the hall and efforts to obtain grants, the situation became critical during the winter of 2018/19 when the ceiling of the somewhat old toilet block was seriously damaged and threatened closure of the hall. Thankfully, emergency self-help provided temporary repairs enabling the hall to stay open. Necessity meant that the project now needed to be tackled urgently as a phased project, beginning with a new toilet block.
A period of fundraising, the application and receipt of various small grants then culminated in substantial funding of £10,000 from The National Lottery Community Fund and then £25,000 from Viridor Credits.
Sadly, at this time the Coronavirus crisis has brought all building work and use of the hall to a halt, but it will recommence as soon as the situation allows and it is safe to do so. Whilst building work is on hold the Trinity Hall Refurbishment Committee continue with plans and fundraising to rapidly move onto Phase Two of the project, the replacement of the hall floor.
The Trinity Hall might be closed and building work stopped, but the activities held in this small hall are vital for many local people with friendships and social contact essential to their well-being. During the Coronavirus isolation the organisers of events such as the weekly coffee morning use their lists of members to maintain contact regularly by phone, email and all available means, checking their needs, their health and well-being and encouraging them in turn to maintain the friendships that they have built up by keeping in contact with each other by phone, email or by social media.