Proposed New Site For LVH

[Admin]

This looks good :clap2:

http://www.newport.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/map/cont395675.pdf (http://www.newport.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/map/cont395675.pdf)
http://www.newport.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/report/cont400643.pdf (http://www.newport.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/report/cont400643.pdf)

New community centre for the residents of Langstoen, with provision for sports facilities , local shop, post office and public open spaces


Existing residential developments in the Langstone area suffer from a lack of community facilities. The existing village hall was built in 1950. Since then the number of households has increased dramatically and the aspirations of the villagers have risen accordingly.



Langstone has grown in size significantly since the building of its original village hall which no longer provides an adequate community resource. The age of the building and lack of space to add additional facilities at its current location means that is not suitable for redevelopment to meet the needs of the much larger and more diverse community that now lives in Langstone. The site is within 200 yards of the exisitng village hall and therefore provides an opporutnity to provide enhanced facilities at a location that is still relatively central to the village.

[Admin]

Not so good :(.


We would expect to commence development within 7 to 10 years. This would allow time to acquire the site, consultations, design and funding

[SallieM]

This is a proposal that was lodged by one of the trustees of the present hall. No agreement has been made for the land to be secured for a community centre at present. Housing has also been proposed and in any case there is no funding for it.

Sorry to be so negative about it.

[kristie]

Thanks for letting us know. Aside from the timeframe involved, it is really positive. Fingers crossed, there is some real progress made soon.

[d.bevan]

Perhaps for funding we should be looking at similar funds to the one in this link... http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/prog_village_sos.htm?regioncode=-uk&status=theProg

[Mark]

Couldn't the Hurran's site be considered for this development, instead of it being built on a greenfield site? Looking at the map on the pdf, the sites look a very similar size.

Perhaps if the Hurrans site was agreed as the location, then the timeframe for building would be reduced due to the pressure put on the council for it being an eye-sore at the moment.

What do others think?

[Alan7]

Nice thought Mark but:

Would the current developer sell it again so soon after buying it?
If they did sell then how many ££££?
Residential land is far more costly than community land.
Where is the ££££ going to come from?
Certainly not NCC.

Just as an aside
Anyone/everyone had the opportunity to propose any site for any sort of development. They don't have to own the site or have any interest in it. So the residential housing proposed sites may just be wishful thinking.

The new Newport Master Plan indicates that appox 3000 new houses will be required over the next 10 years & at the moment sufficient brown field sites are available within the Newport boundary to meet that demand.

[langstonedc]

While in essence I would support anything that would enhance Langstone and the prospect of a new sports and socail facility is a good one. However as Secretary of Langstone and District Canine Society I would have to voice my concerns over a 'relocation' of the current Hall. Why could the two not co-exhist?
Over the years much time and effort has gone into fundraising and maintainence of the current hall in order to keep it up to current standards and make it more amenable to all users.
If a new hall were to be built I wonder how long it would be before the villagers declared they no longer wanted dogs in their new super duper all singing and dancing sports/community Hall. As one of the major users of the current hall and in past years one of only a few societies that has allowed the hall to continue runnning via its revenue. You can imagine the ill feeling it would cause.
while I and the society would wish you every success in your quest for a bigger and better facilty please consider those of us that have continually supported the current hall over the last 50 years, and would like to see both facilitieswork together hand in hand.

[wentwood]

I no longer live in Langstone but was born there and grew up in Parkend. I had a lovely childhood and remember the village hall with pleasure. The old time dancing, first aid classes, parties, dog classes, beetle drives, and occasionally we were treated to picture shows. It was a very small community at that time so the hall was adequate but then the house building started and each time I visited my mother more houses had been built but the facilities were not increased. The small shops in the area closed and eventually the Post Office in Tregarn Road went. The bus service was and still is not very good and if you don't have a car it is difficult to get around. I think the idea of a bigger community centre with a few shops and other facilities would make it a nice place to live again. I am sad to hear that Hurrans Garden Centre has closed as when I visited my Mum and I had many a pleasant afternoon browsing around the plants and trees (she was a keen gardner) and then stopping for a cup of tea and cake. She has passed away now but I still have family who live around the Langstone area so will still be visiting though not as often as I used to. Where this community centre is located should be where the majority would like it to be. I know the fact that I don't live there anymore makes it strange that I should care what happens but I do have a real fondness for the place and would like to see it prosper.

Regards :o
Wentwood

[willy gilby]

We would welcome a new community centre for Langstone, but yet again its not going to happen for years. Sounds like a lot of hot air.We have lived in Langstone for 17 years and used to enjoy it, but now we have decided to move away. We cannot put up with the amount of litter that is scatered about, the state of the roads, vandalism and lack of a real community. Our local council representatives cant even agree on this new park off catsash road. The community want it, but every time there is a meeting to discuss it, it gets adjourned with nothing decided and so it goes on.

[Alan7]

Wily, why didn't YOU do something about it if you felt so strongly that you thought that Langstone had got so bad you had to desert the area and move away?

[Admin]

Our local council representatives cant even agree on this new park off catsash road. The community want it, but every time there is a meeting to discuss it, it gets adjourned with nothing decided and so it goes on. How has the community expressed itself on this matter? As far as I'm, aware there was only the paper questionnaire that came around. The relevant post (http://www.langstonevillage.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2) on this site was viewed over 1,000 times but only 11 people actually voted.

According to RoyalMail, 'NP18 2' has a residential household count of 2,658. Langstone Community Council reported a return of 475 households which equates to 17.5%. I’d suspect that all relevant meetings attracted a similar attendance. Unless a strong desire for action is expressed clearly and decisively then any decision making will always be hampered by doubts of suitability.


We cannot put up with the amount of litter that is scatered about, the state of the roads, vandalism and lack of a real community.Communities simply don’t socialise like they used to, we’re all too busy. We all now live life at a hectic pace and as much as we may care about the community we live in, form filling in and attending meetings cut into our valuable and limited spare time. That’s why I decided to launch this website, it’s a modern way of building a community in a modern world.

Instead of the questionnaire, imagine if a more significant percentage of the community had all expressed their thoughts about the proposed park on this site. How much more impact would that have.

If we want change to happen, if we want the park on Catsahs road, if we want Hurrans developed into communal facilities, if we want shops and a post office and not more housing developments then we have to do something about it.

Use this site to express your opinion, put forward you arguments & concerns and if enough of us do this then change will occur.

[steve]

We all now live life at a hectic pace

I think that is another issue, in that we live life in the fast lane and get frustrated when "other stuff" appears to get caught up in what we often refer to as "red tape". Take the Hurrans site we accept that Planning is a drawn out process, because it has to consider many viewpoints and legislation, and yet its difficult to fathom why "the system" appeared powerless to intervene when the site was destroyed and left as an eyesore.

The Community council meets and yet it takes upto 3 months before "we" get to see what was discussed unless we go along to the meeting. ( back to the too many demands on our time point )


So yes I support your efforts to get "us" involved, I worry that "we" have an expectation that "things" can change over night.

[SallieM]

The community council comprise of volunteers who give up their time for no payment. We desperately try to stop more development in Langstone and do all that is in our power to improve community facilities in the village. The minutes from meetings can be viewed on the parish notice boards and on the Langstone community website.

I don't accept that residents are to busy to give up their time for the community. I work almost full time, have a small son, husband and house to run yet I still make time to do all sorts of community work.

Please get involved and maybe we can do something about the deterioration of what was once a nice place to live.

[Mark]

How can I get involved Sallie?

[SallieM]

Hi Mark

We have a vacancy for a community councillor if you would like to apply. Please contact the chairman for details his e-mail address is below.

If you have a trade you can donate your time or materials for the village hall refurbishment. Or you can just donate your time for fund raising for the hall. We have just been awarded a grant so there is a lot of project management to undertake. You can contact me on my mobile 07857 690146 if you would like more details.

alan@taffiacats.co.uk

[Wales Jay]

Can we take it from the last postings on this that "housing" wins hands over from a new village hall? Does anyone know who the "Trustee" of the present village hall is? It would be nice to have a "real" village hall for the community of Langstone so what do we do about it? Answers on a postcard? :p

[SallieM]

I am a trustee of the village hall alongside 2 other community councillors. We have been working very hard to get funding to repair the existing hall and will be undertaking extensive renovations over the next 6 months. We have also tried very hard to get a site for a new hall. Unfortunately, we don't have the money and we don't have the land. Newport City are not interested in our lack of facilities so we won't get any help from them. The existing hall belongs to the people of Langstone. If every household stumped up about £20 then we could work wonders. The village hall does not benefit from your council tax, but we have received a grant from the community council to get it water tight.

If you have any suggestions or want to donate money or skills then please get in touch.:confused:

[Joycemarshallacademy]

If a new hall were to be built I wonder how long it would be before the villagers declared they no longer wanted dogs in their new super duper all singing and dancing sports/community Hall. As one of the major users of the current hall and in past years one of only a few societies that has allowed the hall to continue runnning via its revenue. You can imagine the ill feeling it would cause.


As a major user of the Hall, I'd like to agree with this sentiment. The Village Hall should be available to anyone from the local community, provided that it is treated with respect and left as users expect to find it. The Village Hall is supposed to serve the local community, and this will not be achieved by alienating certain demographics.

I was wondering whether anything had been said to the Management of the Dog Club about this?

[SallieM]

Nobody is going to ask the dog club to stop using the existing refurbished hall. As long as all users treat it with respect they can continue to enjoy the facility for as long as they want to.:confused:

[Wales Jay]

In the words of Admin, If we want change to happen, if we want the park on Catsahs road, if we want Hurrans developed into communal facilities, if we want shops and a post office and not more housing developments then we have to do something about it.

As much as I agree with the above, I believe the "Community Councillors" not only have a duty to our "community" but also should be there to direct us and inform us of what is going on. Isn't that what they are "elected" for? As one of our own has stated 3 months later is not good enough. If we want change to happen and our services are requested to enable this change, we need to know about it so we can act. Finding out months down the line is too late for anyone to come to the assistance of our community.

If Langstone needs a new village hall - I ask the question, what can we do about it NOW! nothing in retrospect will do us any good. And could I suggest that future meeting minutes of the Community Council are posted on this community website so everyone knows what is going on.

[Alan7]

Wales Jay,

You make a few good point but as a Community Council we can only do so much. I don't agree that The Council should direct the residents, offer advice, yes, keep them informed, yes, but I think it's the other way round. The Council is elected to carry out the wishes of the residents of Langstone, Llanmartin and Llanvaches but we only have limited power and resources to do it. We work very closely with Newport City Council & make recommendation to them, it is up to them to accept or reject our advice.

The Community Council Minutes are readily available after they have been agreed as a true record of the business transacted, so July's Minutes are agreed in August & then are made public. This is common practice with all Community Councils. The most up to date Minutes, for July 2009 are available on the web, August Minutes will be available after the September meeting, a gap of 4 or 5 weeks at the most.. http://www.langstonecc.org.uk/lcc/commcouncil/index.shtml Also, every Community Council Meeting is open to the public, no appointment necessary, just turn up.

At the moment Langstone Community Council has a vacancy for a Councilor, fancy coming along to a meeting to see what it's all about?

I personally try to keep this site informed & up to date with whats happening in the area that concern the residents, hence my postings about the Hurran's development.

With regard to a new village hall. Yes we are aware that the present structure is past it's sell by date & a site has been identified for a new hall. Anybody got a spare £1m to help buy the land & build? In the meantime we are working very closely with the Village Hall Trustees to improve/modernise what we have. However, the two organisations are totally separate entities, the village hall is owned & managed by the trustees, not the council. 2 years ago the village hall was in danger of collapsing as an organisation (the chairman, secretary, treasurer, booking secretary, caretaker & cleaner all resigned) and the valuable asset to the community would have been lost. With the help of LCC the village hall is going from strength to strength, a case of preserving & build on what we have before moving on to better things.

[steve]

Anybody got a spare £1m to help buy the land & build?

Missed a point I suspect, but I have to ask - Why does it need a new site/land ?

[SallieM]

The present site was adequate when Langstone was a small village. It is now an urban sprawl so the hall needs to be bigger, offering more facilities with improved parking.

We will do the best we can with what we have. Please remember that the hall receives no income from NCC. It is a registered charity and the only revenue we collect is from user group hire charges. If the residents want an improved facility then they will have to put their hands in their pockets I'm afraid.:noidea:

[Admin]

Sallie,

Would there be any mileage in pushing for more useage of the Hall? More clasess and/or events?

Perhaps canvasing users of this site to see what they'd like to see happening at the hall?

[SallieM]

We have provided a refurbished kitchen with cooking facilities and a new disabled toilet facility. We are working hard to encourage new users now the facilities are being improved. What we also want is for residents to book the hall for parties and functions. I appreciate that the hall is somewhat shabby at present, but it will be transformed in the next few months. All of the refurbishments will be promoted in Community First magazine.

The Community Council are also planning a free carol concert on 20th December with mince pies and mulled wine. We hope this will bring the residents together for carols around the tree.

Local trades are starting to come forward to donate materials for the renovations. If any others are willing to donate please get in touch. All trades who make a donation will be featured in Community First.

[Alan7]

We have considered replacing the VH on tjhe same site but there are a few problems associated with the idea.

What happens to the existing users while the old VH is demolished & a new structure built? Some of the local organisations have been using it on a regular basis for over 30 years.

The total land area of the current site isn't big enough to construct anything much larger than what is already there, even less if we want more parking.

Remember when the VH was constructed the size & population of Langstone was much smaller. To incorporate more modern facilities demanded by modern society with additional parking then a larger site and building is required.

If the VH is to be the center of the village then it makes sense to have a children's play area & perhaps sports facilities close by so it can be used and enjoyed by all sectors of the community.

[Admin]

A new, bigger VH with play area, sports facilities and parking could really transform Langstone. But even with the best will in the world, there's always going to be the problem of cost.

Tell you what, if I win tonight's lottery, I'll cough up the required money.:cheer2:

[Alan7]

Think we've got to use the "Star System"

Easy to see in the darkness
Useful for navigation
Impossible to reach

BUT it has been done in other villages

[Admin]

BUT it has been done in other villages

Do you know how have other villages accomplished such a mammoth task? Do you think it's feasible that we could do the same here?

[steve]

We have considered replacing the VH on tjhe same site but there are a few problems associated with the idea.

Thanks Alan for your explanation. I assume the current site has a value, more if it had planning consent for a few homes - I know :D but I'm looking at ways to reduce the cash mountain required.

10,000 x £100 "shares" would raise a million.
5,000 x £100 "shares" and equal funding from a Lottery fund
5,000 x £100 "shares" , a donation from NCC and the balance from a Lottery fund

etc


The idea of learning from other VH projects is sound .

[Alan7]

Landogo have a new VH build about 5 years ago. They funded the build by the sale of the old one for residential housing but had a period when no VH was available for the existing users. Unfortunately they had to do it that way to reduce the interest payable on the bridging loan they took out for the cost of the build As a consequence they lost most of their customer base and virtually had to start from sctratch.

The land where the new all was built is next to the school & incorporated a children's play area and gives access to the school grounds for recreational use. The land owned by Monmouthshire CC & the VH Trustees pay a peppercorn rent so they didn't have to find the £££ to buy it.

From start to finish the whole process took years to complete (7 in total I think?) We have a substantial grant at the moment to get the existing structure wind & watertight. But in the future? Who Knows?

Anything is possible with a will - or even a lottery win!!

[steve]

One last question for now


How big a parcel of land is required, say in comparison to the Hurrans site - 50% of it ?

[Alan7]

The Hurran's site is about 4.8 acres

A decent Village Hall/Community facility + parking could be accommodated on less than an acre, depending on it's shape and access.

Just for comparison, a football pitch is about 2 acres.

So simple maths tells me that 25% of the Hurran's site would be ideal. If the developers didn't build 10 of the planned houses in the south east corner of the estate then that area would be just right in terms of size, access & location.

Pity we don't live in an ideal world!!

[steve]

Pity we don't live in an ideal world!!

Agreed but worth considering none the less.