Gissing village hall to be demolished making way for new residential property

A south Norfolk village is to bid farewell to its village hall after both the district council and parish council agreed it would prove too costly to maintain.

The village hall, located in Rectory Road, Gissing, is due to be demolished and replaced with a three bedroom house with a double garage. The village hall is dated 1906 and is a wooden building on a brick upstand.

The building is now considered obsolete by the parish council, who said the new community building in the village now provided a facility “fit for purpose” and accessible to all.

They added the village hall requires “extensive funds to improve the building facility” and has “limited use and parking”.

South Norfolk Council said the village hall is “in need of major refurbishment if it is to be maintained in the long term.”

The council’s design and access statement said the new residential development will use a slightly smaller footprint than the village hall and make use of the existing driveway.

Application for the demolition of the building was submitted in October and was accepted on December 4.

Gissing celebrated the completion if its new community building in July with a range of special guests in attendance, including MP for South Norfolk Richard Bacon, BBC Look East weather presenter Julie Reinger and former chairman of the Football Association Greg Dyke.

The community building won an award for Design for Working and Services last month in South Norfolk Council’s Design Awards. Judges commented on its “excellent design”, creating a “light and spacious community facility”.