Upgrade for a North Devon village hall

Environmental measures and new toilets approved

A village hall in North Devon is to get a £34,000 upgrade.

North Devon Council has allocated some of the funds it gets from new developments to the project at Chittlehamholt, Warkleigh and Satterleigh Village Hall.

The money will go towards installing solar panels with battery storage, an air source heat pump and toilets including a new disabled toilet suite.

Members of the council’s strategy and resources committee agreed to allocate cash received from  the development of 58 holiday lodges and a 16 bed hotel extension at High Bullen Hotel and Golf Country Club at Chittlehamholt to the scheme.

Councillors heard that the plans would make the building more environmentally friendly and more viable by reducing reliance on traditional utilities, costs of which had been difficult to sustain.

The water efficient urinals and a new toilet suite including a disabled provision with radar access could be accessed 24/7, including by those using the adjacent Launds Playing Fields and adjacent community shop.

Match funding of £7,800 has been achieved for the projects via the ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) Platinum Jubilee Village Hall Fund.

Cllr David Worden (Lib Dem, South Molton) said he was “absolutely in favour” of this and it would would be great for Chittlehamholt.