past Work

Major hall extension and upgrade. 2000, Lottery Fund. The original hall dates from the 1930s. The new work included a bar and gathering area, lobby, toilets, and improved services. The hall continued to sit on a neat area of land with just adequate space for maintaining the exterior. (Transforming the hall was a big deal as evident from the group photos in the hall and there could be plenty to say about this if anyone is able and interested in doing so.)

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Upgrade of road past hall and forming a car park at the hall. 2009, Lottery and Scottish Borders Council. The road is unadopted. The communal car park provides visitor and supplementary parking for the village. So far it seems to be sufficient. For large events parking is man-managed on the green.

 

Children's play area. This is provided and maintained by Scottish Borders Council. We have recently obtained funds and provided a new swing with SBC’s consent.

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New sound system. 2009, Village Hall Federation (VHF)

 

Pool table. 2009, VHF. When the hall was extended in 2000 the additional internal space made it possible to have a good pool table and a demountable table tennis table. These were well used on games nights, in particular by younger residents. They are used less at present so they have been put into the newly adapted hall store. This has freed space in the bar area to give us scope for other ideas.

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Stage lights. 2010, Lottery.

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Solar panels. 2012, Lottery. These were placed on the hall roof to take advantage of original government incentives. It operates at an early fairly good tariff and provides valuable funds for the hall as well as supporting “green” technology. It is an example of how the hall keeps alert to opportunities and keen to progress.

 

Acquisition of common land. At the top of the village. From Roxburghe Estates. We paid some legal costs. Roxburghe Estates continues to own the village green on which the boundaries relative to dwellings seem to be imprecise and inconsistent.

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Purchase of land behind hall. 2013, Scottish Land Fund. The land behind the hall was part of the estate of the adjacent house and the owner (inheritor) was proposing to sell it. The hall committee decided to try to acquire it. To secure the opportunity we started the procedures for Community Right to Buy and to get funding through the Scottish Land Fund. In this process the sale is held for six months while the community secures funds and permissions if it can. Discussions with Scottish Land Fund went well so we also also started to negotiate with the owner to see if we could do a private deal. To cut a very long story short, we succeeded and then terminated the various arrangements for Community Right to Buy.

One lesson learnt in the process was that the constitution of the Village Hall Trust did not suit either the Scottish Land Fund or Scottish Parliament (we set up a new development company, since dissolved) and this inspired us much later to set up our SCIO. Another lesson was that the initial fund was less than we needed due to the Fund’s rules, and we spent a lot of time and energy trying to work within that sum before eventually asking for more-which the funder was happy to give!

The Ordnance Survey map of the land was in error and had to be corrected for the Land Register.

 

New patio and landscaping. 2013, Landfill Tax administered by Berwickshire Housing Trust.

To decide what to do with the land. We prepared some proposals for discussion at a meeting of residents. The decision was to make a large patio, a connecting doors from the hall, some outdoor lights, adjust the slope across the site to make it a little flatter, and to grass it, and build a robust external store. In this way we would keep long term potential.

We obtained the necessary planning permission and warrants. The Landfill money paid for the patio and lights.

 

New external store with green roof. 2014, Langhope Rig Fund. Purpose-built to our design it has a green/sedum roof, is robust and large, with power, and was designed to allow us in time to store external equipment including a sit-on mower, maintenance equipment and new patio tables (which we now have).

 

New external store partly self-built. Langhope Rig Fund plus some top-up from hall funds. Originally envisaged as a specialist secure bicycle store for our village electric bikes we decided to build a bigger general-purpose store to complement the existing one to give us more flexible long term uses. Bikes and large equipment are now secured in the original store and the new one takes furniture and sundries. After considerable research found no suitable manufactured stores we designed it ourselves and had it made by a local firm of joiners all for little more than the cost of the special bike store. A group of residents acquired material for and had a happy time casting the concrete base over a few weekends.

 

Hall chairs and donation of existing chairs. 2010, LRF. The 100 or so hall chairs were serviceable but a little scuffed and heavy to manhandle from the store. Given our recent and planned improvements it seemed time to refresh our seating. The new chairs are stacked on trolleys, much lighter to handle, are a cheerful colour, and will improve the look of the hall for many years to come. However, we recognised that the original chairs would be useful to other organisations, and were now a nuisance for us to store, so we found homes for them in other halls.

 

SCIO to replace Trust- Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. The original village hall trust was set up in 1930s when the hall was built. It was adequate for running a small hall but relied on named trustees. Funding agencies were uncomfortable with this form of constitution; we had expanded the remit to include management of common land, and we needed a form that would give us more scope for future development. This became apparent when we started procedures to acquire land behind the hall through the Community Right to Buy scheme. Some of us had experience of converting other organisations to a SCIO, a well-established form recognised and supported by funders and lawyers. We became a SCIO in (date). Our application was assisted by The Bridge.

 

New road surfacing. 2014, LRF”A” and Lottery 50/50.The small road passing the hall is not adopted for maintenance by the local authority. Improvements to the construction and finish of a short length had been made and paid for by some residents at the high end of the village but most of it was deteriorating. We secured funding, obtained tenders and completed the remaining areas. The road is still not adopted but is at a near adoptable standard in terms of its specification and key dimensions and will be in good condition for many years. The work included some grassed hardstanding for residents parking to avoid cars being left on the road or the grass being churned up.

 

Additional new road surfacing at top of village. 2019, LRF. A short stub of road serves housing at a cul de sac at the top of the village. It was decided to improve it to a standard to match the other non-adopted roads.

 

Children’s swing. Responding to a request by local children we replaced the swing in the small play area on the village green with one that was larger, friendlier, and more on trend. We erected it ourselves on the existing frame. It is very popular.

External tables and chairs and sunshades. With the new patio and the French doors from the hall we needed sets of tables and chairs for events. These are stored when not required. We have recently supplemented them with permanent external seats and tables behind the hall and on the green to allow general use by visitors and residents. Some were assembled from kits by a group of residents.

 

Gazebos. We have several demountable gazebos for use in events in the village hall garden

BBQ-date, fund. We have a long history of supporting events with BBQ food so have been keen to keep equipment up to date.

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Gardening equipment and composters. Hand tools and wheelbarrows are needed to maintain the land associated with the hall and occasionally parts of the common land and are available to borrow by residents.  We have also acquired hot composters for the use of residents and the hall. These are at present being trialled in some gardens. There is no garden waste collection in Midlem.

 

Sit-on mower. LRF “A”. We have a large area of grass behind the hall that we maintain ourselves, hence the need for a mower. The grass on village green is not adopted yet is cut by SBC. At times it has been allowed to grow longer and this had prompted debate about how it should look and function. Some grassed paths behind the village gardens have been maintained with support from the Community Council. In both cases maintenance is limited by the external funds so we have used the mower to supplement this as necessary.

 

Pitch, kit and seating for boules. Hall funds. A recent poll of residents confirmed that we should have a boules pitch behind the hall.  A group of volunteers set to and built it using a volunteered mechanical digger and much manual labour. We took advice on construction and had a well-attended evening of instruction on the rules and tips from an expert. The pitch is open to all at all times and includes free boules and measuring kit.

 

Fencing and gates for hall- 2022, We enclosed  the area to make the garden safe for children.

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New modular stage. 2021, LRF. The original stage within the hall was large and strong but not in any way adaptable consisting of wide planks on trestles. When space was needed for larger events such as a Burns Supper it needed to be removed entirely and temporarily took up space in other public areas. We researched demountable stages to find versions that could be assembled with minimal effort in various configurations or removed entirely and easily stored out of sight. It also had to look in keeping with the wooden nature of the hall. Our new stage system does just that. Visiting performers sometimes bring their own stage with them at considerable effort and cost. They should be able to create what they need with ours. Trestles and the stage boards have been stored pending other use.

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New sound system. 2021, LRF. The sound system needed to be brought up to date and made easier for an average person to use. We chose to do so as part of the change to the stage. The original components were built into a substantial cupboard. The new ones are much more compact and may be located in various places within the hall including on or under the stage and outside, so give us more options. At present they are on a trolley.

 

Film screen and equipment-We have a large pull-down screen on which to project film and images. In the recent past it has been used for regular film nights.

 

Adapted internal store. 2021, LRF. We have recently adjusted the doors to the hall store to accommodate larger items, in particular the pool table, thus freeing space elsewhere.

 

E bikes purchase and management-Energy Savings Trust. Taking advantage of this support we got funding for 4 electric bikes for the use of residents. A group of committee members have taken on the management elements of which include rotas for hiring, arranging servicing, cleaning, storage and insurance. To date there is no charge for hiring. They have been popular. Some residents have subsequently purchased their own bikes. Lockdown and winter weather created a pause and the take-up has yet to build to its former level but clearly this initiative has contributed much to village living and community.

 

Commemorative tree planting Next to old smiddy-to mark the Queen’s Jubilee.

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Restoring the village pump-2022. The original pump on the green was languishing and not working. A small group of residents set to and restored it with considerable skill and effort. We now have a smart, working pump.

Bike box-Supplied free by a keen cyclist in the village this provides emergency kit for passing cyclists in a box in front of the hall. We have no record of how well or even if it is used.

 

Defibrillator-We obtained a free defibrillator from a local charity, Scottish H.A.R.T. on the understanding that when the battery expired we would purchase a new defibrillator. We now have a new one located and easily accessed by the hall door. The cost was met by LAMCC. Funds for one were being raised by a regular hall user and these were also given to the charity.

 

External painting of hall and oiling the floor in the hall. Some years ago the exterior of the hall was cleaned and painted by a group of residents. More recently the paintwork was refreshed by professional decorators. The floor has been oiled but not sanded. We think that the boarding is now too thin to risk further sanding in preparation for oiling.

 

Outdoor table tennis table. 2022, SBC Funding for Platinum Jubilee. Chosen in consultation with residents this is easily moved and stored in the new store.

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General improvements to hall. New range cooker. Smoke detectors. Fire safety exit lights. Improvements to electrical wiring. Keeping PAT testing and certificates up to date.

 

Heat pump air conditioning. 2021, LRF. We decided to improve the hall heating. The existing variety of wall-mounted fan heaters were expensive to run and had no “green” credentials. We explored the idea of air source heat pumps, were surprised at how few  local companies offered to install a direct through the wall version , and eventually engaged one based in Edinburgh. The 3 new units can easily heat or cool the hall, respond quickly, are programmable and replace all the original heaters. The installation required us to get both Planning Approval and a Building Warrant both of which seemed like unnecessary expense given that they are on the rear of the building and are fully warranted by the manufacturer and installer.

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