Wixford set for state-of-the-art new village hall

Wixford is to get a new environmentally friendly village hall after being selected as one of 69 green projects to get county council funding.

£24,066 from the council’s Green Shoots Fund will go on the hall, seeing the dilapidated and damp building replaced with an energy efficient one fit for the 21st Century.

The new hall will have low carbon air-source heat pumps, extracting heat from the surroundings and using it to heat the building.

There will also be a mechanical ventilation system, high grade insulation and air tightness measures to minimise heat loss.

The new village hall is forecast to deliver an 83% reduction in CO2 emissions for each hour the hall is used when compared to that of the old building.

The existing village hall structure is to be removed, and, thanks to a donation from a member of the local community, a modern steel-framed structure with a slightly larger physical footprint will be erected in its place. This method will dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of construction compared to a new build.

The commitment to recycling materials also includes reusing the donated building’s doors, windows and many of its internal fittings as part of the new construction in Wixford.

Work on the construction of the new village hall will begin in Spring 2022 and is expected to be completed by Autumn 2022.

John Cain, Chairman of Wixford Village Hall, said: “We were delighted that we were able to receive the support of the Warwickshire County Council Green Shoots funding scheme as it will greatly help in achieving our aim of minimising the carbon footprint of the new Village Hall”

Cllr Heather Timms, Portfolio Holder for Environment, Climate and Culture, said: “The replacement of Wixford Village Hall is a great example of the things that make Warwickshire a great place to live: the local community coming together to restore a well-loved and used location in the village in a cost-effective and innovative way.

“The range of start-of-the-art carbon efficient technologies, such as heat pumps, and a recycled building to replace the existing structure make this such an exciting project and worthy recipient of our Green Shoots funding. I look forward to following the progress of this project and visiting the new hall when it re-opens in 2022.”