Consultation - Funding for New Eynsford Village Hall Project

Eynsford Parish Council are considering applying for a Public Works Loan to part fund the new village hall project and are seeking your views. These will be taken into account when deciding whether to go ahead with the loan.

Eynsford Parish Council has been working with Eynsford Village Hall Trustees for several years to make the new village hall a reality alongside a new football pitch and car park at Harrow Meadow. The parish council, along with the village hall trustees are committed to providing a modern, accessible and sustainable community facility that will serve the residents of Eynsford for generations to come. The existing hall has been a vital part of village life for many decades but has now reached the end of its useful life due to significant structural issues, ongoing settlement, maintenance problems and limitations associated with its current site.

The purpose of the new hall is to provide a welcoming, inclusive and flexible community space that supports educational, sporting, cultural, recreational and social activities. The new hall will comprise a large main hall, two meeting rooms, a fully equipped kitchen, accessible facilities and modern energy-efficient low carbon mechanical/electrical systems. It will be situated on Harrow Meadow, a central and accessible location within the village owned by the parish council. This will include a small amount of development on Green Belt which has been permitted due to exceptional circumstances. The improved facilities, enhanced accessibility and greater parking provision will enable a much broader range of activities and events to take place than in the past.

The project is reaching its final stage with the majority of the funding for the remaining costs now in place or expected soon. The total forecast cost of the project, including costs of £385,335 incurred since 2022, is £2,301,600, funded as follows:

To ensure there are no cashflow difficulties during the construction period, 11 local residents have agreed to provide interest free loans over 3 years to the Village Hall Trustees totalling £250,000 to the project which will be repaid out of the bank loan, the new grant and the additional fundraising. 

The grants of £335,706 include a £260,00 grant from Sevenoaks District Council payable subject to the remaining project funding being secured.

We would like to help to bridge the final funding gap of £250,000 by taking out a public works loan (a government loan) to support the project. Without this loan there will be a funding shortfall of £510,000 (including the loss of the Sevenoaks District Council grant) and the new village hall will not be built.

We are proposing to apply for a loan of £250,000 repayable over 20 years. The repayments will cost the parish council approximately £22,000 per year for 20 years, an increase of c.18% of our average expenditure. The loan repayments will need to be paid for through an increase in the amount that the parish council receives through your council tax bills (the precept. This would cost individual households an extra £15- £45 per year for 20 years, depending on your Council Tax band (for example, bands E and F homes will pay an extra £28 and £33 per year). This would be £1.50 - £4.50 per monthly bill*, or an overall increase in your total council tax of approximately 1%. The final figures will be subject to the current interest rates. (*based on 10 "monthly" bills per year).

For more information about the plans for the village hall and this project visit eynsfordvh.com

Please complete the consultation questions via this link. Consultation - New Village Hall Public Works Loan – Fill out form

The deadline for responses is 15th November 2026.

One response per taxpayer only thank you. If you have already responded by an alternative means (paper form, email) please do not complete this online form.

Statement from Trustees:

A New Village Hall for Eynsford

The Eynsford Village Hall Trustees have been working with Eynsford Parish Council for several years to replace the old village hall with a modern, accessible and sustainable community facility that will serve the residents of Eynsford for generations to come. The existing hall has been a vital part of village life for many decades but has now reached the end of its useful life due to significant structural issues, ongoing settlement, maintenance problems and limitations associated with its current site.

The purpose of the new hall is to provide a welcoming, inclusive and flexible community space that supports educational, sporting, cultural, recreational and social activities. The new hall will comprise a large main hall, two meeting rooms, a fully equipped kitchen, accessible facilities and modern energy-efficient low carbon mechanical/electrical systems. It will be situated at Harrow Meadow, a central and accessible location within the village. The improved facilities, enhanced accessibility and greater parking provision will enable a much broader range of activities and events to take place than in the past. Furthermore, the improved quality of the facilities will make the new hall a much more attractive proposition for weddings, enabling the trustees to generate more income from private hires which will in turn allow hiring rates for community use to be kept at accessible levels.

The hall will be available to all sections of the community. The trustees are committed to equality of opportunity and do not discriminate on the grounds of race, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, marital status or socio-economic background. We intend the hall to be used by existing community groups, sports clubs, arts organisations, youth groups, older people's organisations, visitors to the village, charitable organisations, private hirers and community interest groups.

Bookings are expected to be managed through a modern booking system, potentially including online access through the hall website. Detailed arrangements for access to the hall will be developed once the construction of the new hall is underway, and options including electronic access controls and key-safe systems will be explored. The objective is to ensure that access is secure, convenient and proportionate to the needs of different user groups. Responsibility for the car park will rest with the parish council but the trustees expect to work with them to ensure that users of the hall have appropriate access.

The trustees intend to employ a hall manager to oversee bookings, liaise with users and actively promote the facility. Particular effort will be made to attract organisations and residents who did not use the old hall. This will include active marketing, outreach to underrepresented groups, encouraging educational and cultural activities, developing health and wellbeing programmes, engaging with visiting school groups, promoting opportunities for young people and older residents, and encouraging organisations that have previously moved elsewhere because of the condition of the existing hall to return.