News. . . .
November 17th, 2010
Meeting held to discuss the future of Emlyn Hall
A public meeting was held on 11th November 2010 to try to kick-start a plan to rescue the hall which is now in a very sad and dilapidated state. Around 15 people turned up despite an almost total lack of publicity for the event, although most were town councillors or their spouses.
The hall itself is owned by the people of Newcastle Emlyn and not the council, and under its constitution it is supposed to have a number of trustees and a committee of 18 members. Currently there are two trustees and no committee.
The only users of the hall at present are the Apple Dance Studio who pay £75 per week for use of the premises. The dance school is extremely popular, and a representative made it clear that it is very happy with current arrangements and wishes to continue using the hall.
Underneath the hall are rooms which previously housed the youth club, and at one time included a small canteen and a weights room. These were badly damaged by flooding and have not been used for the last couple of years.
The upper story of the hall also contains several rooms and a balcony, but this area is also no longer in use.
The hall has no heating system, and is not accessible to wheelchair users because the only access to any part of the hall is by stairs.
Several attendees of the meeting noticed that parts of the roof appear to be rotten, and there was evidence of water damage on the floor of the main part of the hall.
Currently the hall is making a very small profit, and it has reserves of approximately £5,000.
The meeting agreed to set up a new committee, and 11 volunteers were found. In the main these are town councillors or their spouses. It was also agreed that the committee should meet again in mid-January to start putting together a plan for the hall.
The fundamental problem facing the hall is that it is a very inflexible space and not suited to the needs of the various clubs and other groups which might use it. The Church Hall, which has been refurbished with the help of generous grants, the Catholic church hall and commercial venues such as the Emlyn Arms have all taken over from the Emlyn Hall.
The new committee will first need to contact all the various potential users of the hall to see whether they have any interest in saving it for the town and turning it back into what it once was – a hub of community life. Rescuing the hall and making it a flexible space to meet the needs of all the various local groups which might use it as well as a venue for private functions will mean that very large sums of money will need to be raised locally and in the form of grants. The challenge to the town and its people will be to see if there is the will and sufficient energy to do this.
As things currently stand, the hall can probably carry on for a couple more years as a venue for the dance school, but sooner or later expensive repair work will be needed to stop the rain coming in and the disintegration of the fabric.
