Isfield & Little Horsted

CASH CALLS: Isfield Village Hall could be in line for a significant extension and refit programme if its management committee is successful in a submission for funding to finance some of the cost, which could total up to close on £200,000. The management committee, an independent registered charity, was one of several groups expected to pitch claims at a meeting of Isfield Parish Council last night (Thursday) for funding being made available under Section 106 money for use by the village as a result of the Millwood Homes development on the old Army campsite in the south of the village. Briefly, S106 cash is money that developers of larger sites pay to a local authority to reduce the impact of the development. Developers sign an agreement as part of their planning permission. It is a legal document that specifies what the money is spent on and where. Typically, the money is used to make improvements to highways, parks, public transport and schools. Under preliminary proposals, the Village Hall would be extended to full height to its rear in part of the existing car park area to provide space for an additional activity/events room, additional storage, and a toilet for the disabled. It is also hoped that improvements could be made to kitchen facilities and existing toilets tidied. The committee was expected to say in its submission that the hall provides facilities for a wide variety of leisure activities for all ages and gives accommodation for a daily pre-school group, which it subsidies. The successful Monday to Friday pre-school group runs until around 2pm, thus precluding other activities there during the morning, although it provides some 40 percent of the hall's income. Provision of additional facilities space would allow other groups to use the hall in the mornings and thus provide much-needed funds through lettings for the hall's upkeep. At present the bill for self-funded maintenance runs to around £9,000 a year. Last Saturday the hall committee held an open day at which many of the hall's