Longford Village Hall Kitchen Refurbishment

This is a project to refurbish the Longford Village Hall kitchen.

The kitchen in the hall was installed in 2008 and is now reaching the end of its life. This project is designed to update the kitchen with new cabinets, worktops, cooker, electrics, floor and ceiling. It will offer a more hygienic environment for food preparation and facilitate the needs of the various user groups, e.g. having crockery stored at an appropriate height for those with lower mobility. The proposed changes will enable other uses, such as a lunch clubs, which have been discussed, but it was assessed that the current kitchen is not up to a sufficient standard to do this safely and hygienically.

The village hall provides a space for local groups to meet and carry out their activities. The committee host several community events throughout the year, including car boot sales, quiz nights, and an annual Summer Fayre. The hall is available for private hire for parties, business meetings and local religious activities, such as prayer meetings and community meals during Ramadan. The majority of these groups use the kitchen to a greater or lesser extent, with the committee running cafes, bars and providing food for all of the community events. The hall provided a place of safety, warmth and acted as a focal hub for local agencies and advice groups during the latest flooding event in January 2024. The committee ran the kitchen throughout, providing hot drinks and food, much of which had been donated by local businesses. An updated kitchen will allow the users and committee to provide a wider range of foods that will be able to be prepared in a hygienic setting. Currently most food preparation is carried out off-site.

Environmental considerations: The use of stainless-steel cabinetry will provide longevity (approx. 25 years) with the materials being recyclable. Replacing the current gas oven and hob with electric appliances and the use of modern lighting will reduce the hall’s greenhouse gas emissions and operational costs. Conversion to mostly electricity will work towards potential future projects e.g. solar or air source heat pumps.

Hard to reach considerations: The hall has a notice board with contact numbers and advertisements of regular and community events. Leaflet drops for major events and to advertise the hall’s events and amenities are regularly conducted to all houses in the Longford Parish. An email list is maintained for advertising events to previous attendees and social media is used to encourage those with it to advertise by word of mouth.