“Thank you to all supporters of Beccles Public Hall – we could not have achieved what we have without the remarkable support from the community”, said the Hall Directors.

Beccles Public Hall and Theatre will have been operating as a community-owned venue for two years on the 19 th February 2015. There’s a very worthy reason to celebrate and toast its success with all the supporting individuals and groups as it has a familiar “threat of closure” story to tell.

The Public Hall was purchased by Beccles Lido Limited, a registered charity that was formed by an enthusiastic group of local individuals keen to save the Beccles open-air swimming pool. The pool had fallen into disrepair and was due to be closed by the district council in 2004. It’s future looked very uncertain. After much hard work and determination by volunteers, the fortunes of this popular outdoor pool has been turned round with record numbers of visitors during each Summer season.

In 2011, there was a rallying call to the community for volunteers to come forward and help save the Public Hall in Beccles – its future looked very bleak indeed and “we all feared that the site could be sold, redeveloped and lost forever” said John Cushing, Hall Director.

Terry Dentith and John Cushing, now two of the three directors at the Hall had been involved with events and productions at the Hall since the mid 1980s – they were only too willing to step forward to help secure its future as a crucial community facility.

In 2011 Terry asked the community for help: “We are looking for a management board and people to join a Friends of the Public Hall group so that volunteers can help support and take on roles. There is a £14,000 loss a year and we have to turn that around.”

Local District Councillor, Graham Elliott was instrumental in helping to save the building as he made it a central part of his election campaign, therefore spreading the word to all the community. The community along with many people already connected rallied round and started the process of saving the grand old central venue, which was built in 1785 and coloured with a rich and diverse history.

There then followed a couple of years of negotiation with the District Council and the Hall finally became the property of BLL in 2013. What also followed was a plan to address and prioritise the structural problems and, to date, asbestos has been removed, the roof has been strengthened, the heating system has been made efficient, the outside of the building has been renovated, painted and is now looking cared for! “Many more local people are perhaps seeing this hall for the first time as it’s refurbished”. Said Terry Dentith, who has overseen the renovation work. Major internal renovations are planned for this August for the balcony and foyer area. Watch this space!

There’s a massive array of tasks from Box Office, bar work, cleaning the building, technical support, event organisation, logistics which John Cushing has responsibility for, to writing funding bids to address the major structural issues and maintenance of the building itself, which is Terry Dentith’s remit. Even though the tasks seem enormous, there is a clear passion and love of Beccles Public Hall, which drives the volunteers on.

The Events team, led by Sue Bergin, is currently working on the tenth What’s On programme of which 5,000 are produced each quarter and are devoured by the local community and surrounding areas. “One of the best aspects of coordinating events, is to see the audience’s reactions when we offer popular events such as big band dance nights with King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys. However, many favourite events which have been produced by local musical groups have remained at the Hall and have supported the place for many years and we hope we have achieved a good balance of entertainment” said Sue Bergin.

Check the website for more information about the array of interesting and varied events coming up at Beccles Public Hall at: www.becclespublichall.com

—

advert

Want to learn a martial art?
Come and Try Taekwon-do and Train with British Champions at Beccles Taekwon-do Club!
Bring the children, we will teach you all at the same time!!