Your opportunity to find out about the Village Hall
Bob Scott, Chair of Prestwood Village Hall Operations, advises “We have an Annual Public Meeting every November to which all villagers (space permitting) are invited. Happy to discuss anything related to the Village Hall at any time.” The meeting this year will be held in the Village Hall on Thursday 18 November 2021 @ 7.45pm. If you have suggestions or concerns as to how the Village Hall can provide more facilities, including parking, this is your opportunity to take up Bob’s invitation.
The Story So Far…
PVA reported last December, village-hall-parking, about parking at Prestwood Village Hall,which continues to attract debate on PVA and other local Facebook groups.
Residents’ concerns emerged during the lockdown when the Village Hall was closed & the car park was empty. With both villagers and shops in Chequers Parade under pressure, some drivers parked in the hall car park. In December 2020, over a hundred comments were posted on PVA website and Facebook in response to notices left on “offending” vehicles’ windscreens advising that they were parked illegally in a private car park.
In July this year, further such notices issued to vehicle owners parked there brought more comments on Your Prestwood & Great Missenden Facebook Group, until the Hall Management Team asked that these comments be turned off.
Great Missenden Parish Council and PVA encouraged the Hall Trustees and Management Team to respond to these residents’ concerns through increased engagement, in hope of an improved situation. Previously, at a meeting held in February 2020, between the Village Hall, PVA, local councillors and Great Missenden & Prestwood Revitalisation Group www.gmprg.org.uk, the Village Hall undertook to respond to questions raised on a variety of pertinent issues; they have yet to respond.
A paper has been prepared listing residents’ ideas for relieving the parking situation in an equitable manner and without restricting Village Hall users access to sufficient parking; this has not been progressed.
Village Hall Constraints.
Village Hall Trustees contend that when the 2010 application to extend the Car Park was approved by Chiltern District Council (CH/2010/1988/FA), they were legally constrained; “that the public should not be allowed to park in the car park, if they are not specifically using the village hall …. as the entrance/exit passes over a pavement into a bus stop and close to a bus shelter”. Great Missenden Parish Council contributed £2,000 to help fund this Car Park extension.
However, it has been counter claimed that the CDC restriction is “Informative” and therefore not a legally binding condition on the Trustees. PVA also understands that the parcels of land given by Cornelius Stevens to the Village in 1925 for the site of the village hall and car park, are unregistered with the Land Registry, leaving the ownership of the land and the responsibilities of the Trustees in question.
Finally, the Charity Commission entry for the Village Hall, No. 226409, states that the charity’s purpose is “to help the General Public/mankind” and its aims are “For any charitable purpose or purposes calculated to promote the moral, intellectual or physical improvement or welfare, or the reasonable recreation advantage or benefit of the inhabitants of the village of Prestwood”.
The long term success of the village hall very much depends on the car park being availablle to hirers at all times,no car park no hirers,in the 1960s Gt Kingshill village hall used to have a much larger car park,which they sold most off for development to enable refurbishment of the hall, hence a now small car park,yes car park the other side of the common which is not what hirers of the hall want or like,at certain times Prestwood Village hall actually does not have enough space for its own hirers i have seen it jam packed double parked many times with hirers cars,also IF it was to become a legal full general public use car park,it would soon become HALF full of cars parked nearly permanently,the car park in lots of ways is nearly MORE important than the actual hall,no car park for hirers NO VILLAGE HALL.
I have been alerted to the post ref: Mr N. Corteen 30/10/2021 7:38pm.
Why my name is mentioned in this post, I do not know. For the avoidance of doubt, I can provide no such confirmation. For the further avoidance of doubt,
I am available for face to face discussions on any issues in the common good, that community members feel I can help with, by contacting the Clerk at GMPC.
Your name is mentioned in my post because the comment was made by the chair and you were in attendance. Both myself and Martyn Poole attended on behalf of the trustees and will confirm the comments. You have also written to us as a councillor (although I understand this was not sanctioned by the council) and later as a resident. Are you denying that the chairs comments were made?
I am still unclear why my name is mentioned. Please be aware of the correct protocols (and for the avoidance of any doubt and to clarify any confusion on your part ) written communications in my name, are in my capacity as a resident. Any written communication on behalf of GMPC will always be thru’ the office of the Clerk. The official record of GMPC meetings can be found in the published minutes and may I also refer you to my previous answer.
On behalf of Jane Williams
I have only just caught up with this stream of comments about VH car parking. I find it really disheartening that this even has to be an issue. The size of the VH carpark is larger than the one on the High Street, which can get full at school pick-up times. What a shame a parcel of land wasn’t designated for the use of villagers who are visiting nearby shops and amenities other than the VH. I can’t imagine the original bequest was intended to be so exclusive. I am guilty of using the car park for a maximum of 20 minutes each week, when I have to pop in to Sainsburys for a few bits for my 97 year old Mum, who I leave sitting in the car. (Last week Mum was handed the parking notice!!). I have no alternative but to go out of my way and spend more time parking in the High Street cp and shopping in the Co-op. This week I am visiting the mobile breast screening unit parked in the VH carpark – can I park in the VH car park for this purpose, even though I will not be using the VH itself? If a VH committee member sees this before Monday afternoon, please let me know.
Hi Jane, I hope this is not too late. If you are attending the village hall or are a guest of a hiring organisation which includes the NHS, you are welcome to use the village hall car park. I’m a trustee by the way. Please, if you know others who will be attending over the next few months, let them know that we positively encourage people to park in the hall car park and attend their appointment. Best wishes.
Getting somewhat tired of the continued efforts of the PVA to stir up this issue. You are also poorly informed. The land was gifted to the WI who appointed the Trustees to run the village hall on behalf of those who hire it. The Deed of Gift gives the land to the Trustees. The land upon which the car park stands was purchased by the Trustees n 1942 to provide a car park for those who are hiring the hall. We have the Conveyance document. Land registry laws were changed in 1990 requiring the registry of land that is sold. The Village Hall does not fall under these requirements. However, the Trustees have started the process to register the land and the original documents from 1925 and 1942 are held by a local solicitors. Legally you only have to be able to prove fifteen years of use which is easily demonstrable even without the Deed of Gift and the conveyance. The informative is not legally biding but is considered best practice and was advised by the county engineer. I attended a GMPC meeting in August where the council said that they found it hard to push the Trustees on parking as they run two halls with the same restrictions on public parking. A comment from the chair was ‘The PVA is a self appointed organisation that is overstepping its bounds’. I’m sure Cllr Simon Rhodes can confirm that for you. The issue over parking and the benefits of the car park for hirers has been discussed by both the management committee and the Trustees and the policy is not due to change. We are fortunate in that bookings have recently taken an upturn and as the village hall is entirely funded by bookings we have to guarantee full use of facilities for hirers. We are however grateful for the funding provided to us by Bucks County Council during the Covid 19 pandemic without which we would have folded.
Great response – I see that the PVA has not bothered to reply. Maybe they prefer to continue to rely on opinion and make-believe rather than facts.