National Village Halls Week launched at Bucklebury's renovated Victory Room by Lord Benyon
Bucklebury’s renovated village hall was opened recently in an event that launched Village Halls Week 2022 across England.
Undersecretary of state at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and West Berkshire landowner, Richard Benyon, was present to officially open the extended hall, called the Victory Room, on January 24.
The aim of Village Halls Week is to help raise awareness of the contribution that village halls make to rural communities and to inspire volunteers to find creative and productive ways to run them.
Lord Benyon said: “I was delighted to visit the Victory Room, Bucklebury, to mark the launch of Village Halls Week – an initiative which celebrates the important role village halls play in bringing rural communities closer together.
“Defra works alongside Action with Communities in Rural England and its network of councils, to support the growth and upkeep of these vital institutions for the communities they represent.”
Chair of trustees at the Victory Room John Brims spoke about the importance of maintaining a hall that dates back to its first meeting on July 7, 1920 and how it must continue to be an important resource for the local community.
The Victory Room is currently used by children and youths, for sports events and wellbeing functions as well as key community events like quiz nights, wine tasting evenings and family fun days.
The event was organised by local charity Connecting Communities in Berkshire (CCB), whose president is Lord Benyon, and national charity Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE).
CCB are part of the ACRE Network, England’s largest rural grouping of community support charities which provide year-round support and advice to village halls.
Executive Director at ACRE Richard Quallington said: “This is the fifth year of Village Halls Week; our campaign which aims to recognise the huge contributions village halls make to their local communities.
“The tens of thousands of volunteers who run them and the many services they offer deserve a special thank you this year.
“Many provided a life line during the pandemic and as society opens up again we are focusing this campaign on looking to the future – at innovation and encouraging village halls to do something different to benefit their community.”
Chief Executive at CCB Tim Parry added: “Village Halls Week is a celebration of many things, but most importantly it draws attention to the dedication of the many hundreds of volunteers in West Berkshire who give their time free-of-charge to keep village halls open, safe and welcoming to the whole community.
“The event at the Victory Room, live-streamed to halls across England, launched Village Halls Week and our celebration of the many activities we attend at village halls and the hard work of everyone taking responsibility for our welfare while we are there.
“Activities at halls are a lifeline for many people, which is why CCB is dedicated to providing all the support that village hall management committees need to ensure they are always open and available to their community.”
