Press Release – On behalf of FCC Communities Foundation

8 July 2019

PRESS RELEASE

Funding Approved for Village Hall Refurbishment in West Challow

The residents of West Challow in Oxfordshire are to benefit from renovations to their Village Hall thanks to a £18,331 grant from funding body FCC Communities Foundation.

The money will be used to rewire the hall, fit new heaters, replace windows and doors with double glazed units and to refit the toilets.

Mandy Barclay, West Challow Village Hall Committee Chairman, believes the improvements will make a huge difference to the lives of people living in the area.

She says: “This project will provide a real boost to the people of West Challow. It’s fantastic that FCC Communities Foundation has awarded us this money and we’re really looking forward to our Village Hall taking shape over the next three months.”

FCC Communities Foundation is a not-for-profit business that awards grants for community projects through the Landfill Communities Fund.

Penny Horne, Grant Manager for FCC Communities Foundation, says: “We’re delighted to be supporting the West Challow Village Hall refurbishment project and pleased our funding will make such a difference to so many groups of people in West Challow and the surrounding villages. FCC Communities Foundation is always happy to consider grant applications for projects that benefit local communities and we’re looking forward to this one having a positive impact very soon.”

Mandy says: “We hope the refurbishment of West Challow Village Hall will be complete by the end of October.”

West Challow Village Hall is situated in a rural setting at the edge of the village. The Hall was officially opened at 8pm on 30th June 1951 by Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman who lived in nearby Wantage. The Hall is the centre of our community, being the only public building for social events. The village has no pub, shop or school. As such it has served the needs of the village since the 1950’s.

With essential maintenance work that can now be carried out thanks to the FCC Communities Foundation grant, our Village Hall heritage will be guaranteed for many more years to come.

Media information:

For further press information please contact Margaret Swadling, West Challow Village Hall Committee Member, mswadling@hotmail.com, 07896 431542, 01235 762862

Notes to editors:

West Challow Village Hall is a not-for-profit registered charity providing events, including regular bar nights, to enable the villagers, many of whom are elderly, to enjoy social gatherings.

To date funds have been granted for making the roof watertight, repairing the guttering and some essential electrical work to wire in the new defibrillator.

West Challow Village Hall hosts a variety of social events usually on a monthly basis. Recently there has been a Summer Picnic (bring a plate event), an illustrated talk on Country Houses in Oxfordshire, a Macmillan Coffee Morning raising £200, a Quiz Night with Fish & Chips, a Wine Tasting evening and providing lunch for a WW1 Armistice event, as well as a monthly informal Bar Night.

Events are publicised on the village website, www.westchallow.org, and via the village email system.

The Hall is hired for evening classes, recently dog training and currently Tai Chi, once a week in term time. The local church uses the Hall for social events such as the Harvest Lunch and various fund-raising events, and local people hire the Hall, usually for parties. The Hall is also used as the Polling Station for Elections and for West Challow Parish Council meetings.

FCC Communities Foundation is a not-for-profit business that awards grants for community, conservation and heritage projects from funds donated by FCC Environment through the Landfill Communities Fund. Since 1998, FCC Communities Foundation has granted over £200m to more than 7,000 projects which benefit people living within 10 miles of an FCC Environment landfill site. For more information please visit www.fcccommunitiesfoundation.org.uk

FCC Environment is the leading UK waste and resource management company and is part of a global group with a strong heritage in providing services for communities and business. Its vision is to be the environmental company of choice, delivering change for a sustainable future. It employs 2,400 people and operates more than 200 facilities across England, Scotland and Wales. FCC Environment donates the landfill tax credits that are generated by its operations to FCC Communities Foundation, in order to add value to the environmental and social infrastructure of the communities around landfill sites, www.fccenvironment.co.uk

The Landfill Communities Fund – any waste that is discarded which cannot be reused, reprocessed or recycled may ultimately be disposed of in a landfill site. To encourage the re-use, recycle and recovery of more value from waste and use more environmentally friendly methods of waste disposal, Landfill Tax is charged on each tonne of waste sent to landfill. Landfill Operators (LOs) are able to redirect a small proportion of landfill tax liability to support a wide range of community and environmental projects in the vicinity of their landfill sites through the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF). The LCF is regulated by ENTRUST on behalf of HM Revenue & Customs, and the projects are delivered by enrolled Environmental Bodies (EBs), www.entrust.org.uk