The hall is owned by a registered charity which is run by a group of Trustees. Effectively they act as owners, and have ultimate responsibility for the site. Trustees are Ian Carrington, Christine Griffin, Eddie Kirby, Jean Straw and Peter Allen-Williams, and the Chairman is Geoff Willoughby. The Vicar is also an ex officio member. The day to day running of the hall is handled by the hard working members of the Social Club.

The Problem

A key goal for the Trustees is to make sure the hall provides as many activities as possible for the widest range of users. A growing concern in recent years has been the lack of proper facilities for disabled users, especially those in wheelchairs. Not only does this mean the hall is not compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act (or DDA), bus also that many activity providers won't use it because it is not DDA compliant - even where their activity would be largely aimed at able bodied users. For example the Extend fitness programme for Senior Citizens won't use the premises, and nor will most parent-and-toddler groups.

The Solution

The hall's lack of facilities was clearly an obstacle to providing the best for the community - disabled or not. So the Trustees explored a range of options for improvements, and worked up comprehensive designs with an experienced architect which were shown to residents at the Canwick Fete. Work like this is incredibly expensive and for a very small parish funding big capital projects is extremely difficult. To make things easier the scheme has been divided into three parts - the hall will be DDA compliant once Phase II is finished.

Where Are We Now?

Funding of some £12,000 for Phase I was obtained with the help of Canwick Parish Council, the Social Club and the efforts of the whole community. The new high efficiency heating boiler is installed and already saving money (and doing its bit to reduce carbon emissions). The lift was formally opened by the City Sheriff of Lincoln on 16th April 2010, and it is ready and waiting for any disabled or mobility restricted visitor who may need it. To see pictures of the opening ceremony click this link. You can see pictures of the lift installation by clicking here.

Before the new lift was officially opened the Trustees were already bidding for funding for the next stage of the project. Winning awards of £10,000 from The National Lottery and £3,000 from the Garfield Weston Foundation allowed works to go ahead, and Phase II construction is now under way to install a disabled toilet and reconfigure the entrance area. The works began on July 12th and should take approximately one month. You can see pictures of the works in progress by clicking here. Once Phase II is complete the hall will be fully DDA compliant, but the Trustees will still be bidding for funds to carry out Phase III.