Story by: Liz Searle, Vestry Hall Administrator
The Community Open Day on Thursday 4 October proved a great success offering the first opportunity for the community to view the Vestry Hall, following the completion of a £3 million refurbishment project funded by Burngreave New Deal for Communities.
The doors opened to the public on a beautiful, sunny day with just over 400 members of the community having a look around the newly refurbished premises. The Hall has been given a new lease of life as a Community Learning & Activity Centre.
The Open Day enabled the public to check out the facilities and talk to BNDfC staff & Learning Advisers about the activities and courses on offer. Hundreds of enquiries were received from local people wanting to take courses at the Hall which are planned to start in November.
The formal celebratory opening will be held in the afternoon of Wednesday 21 November, look out for further details locally.
In addition to training and IT courses the Hall offers conference and meeting facilities as well as the opportunity for private functions, such as wedding receptions.
For any enquiries about booking rooms or joining courses contact a member of the Vestry Hall team on 0114 213 3800.
Here are some of the comments left by visitors…
“We find this building most interesting, this is a very important place”
“I find this building most impressive, and I hope to be using its facilities at some point”
“Thankyou for bringing this wonderful building back into use. It"s fantastic, I hope you have many happy years working within it”
“The building has been totally transformed from what it used to be in the 1960s. It looks more spacious and clean and lots more room. Hope the community of the area will use it often.”
“The new look Vestry Hall is very nice, the facilities are great. We hope that a lot will be achieved within these walls. In comparison to the original Vestry Hall, it is much nicer. It will allow the area to feel a better part of the City, with its own focal central point.”
“I have never been inside this building before but I do think that the mix of new with old looks very good. I hope the Vestry Hall keeps full and busy for a very long time.”
“This Vestry Hall is very attractive. I hope everything will be fine and smooth. I hope all the courses will take place.”
“I think that this is a fantastic building which is in the heart of the community which will benefit all.”
“The building and facilities are excellent-it looks beautiful inside and I am sure people will enjoy spending time here. It would have been nice if there had been courses already set up for people to sign up for but all in all it seems to have been a very successful day.”
“The Vestry Hall is well situated and well equipped with large rooms ideal for meetings, teaching and other activities. The people I"ve met were very helpful.”
“I believe this is a lovely building for the community. I am impressed and very pleased about it. Keep up the good work.”
“Vestry Hall is well situated to serve the very diverse community of Burngreave. The building as a whole is very impressive. It is a great place for learning.”
“This Vestry Hall is very nice. I am waiting to do courses here.”
“This brilliant resource now needs to be positively used for first class learning/training-this can only be achieved by partnership working.”
“I have lived in Burngreave for twenty nine years and I can remember the weddings and the Youth Club I used to attend here when I was young; I can"t believe how much it has changed.”
“Vestry Hall looks beautiful and means a great deal to the community.”
“A lot of us can"t wait to get into college so having a course centre here will be very good.”