Image courtesy of Hassocks Life Magazine
Adastra Hall opened for public use in 1987. In the past 37 years the village has grown dramatically and in 2024 we will host over 1,100 hire events in the year. Demand often outstrips supply – the hall and its’ rooms don’t have elastic walls and therefore the management committee have decided to progress creating 2 extensions:
- Toilets – it is felt that the current toilet facilities are inadequate for a modern facility such as ours. We need more toilets, more flexibility and baby changing facilities so we are proposing 7 x all-inclusive, unisex and 2 disabled / baby changing units.
- Green room – the green room space is popular but it’s too small for many hirers when the main hall is not available. So our plan here is to create a much larger, modern space with views over the park, and capable of hosting up to 60 people for a meeting, or a party.
Funding the development
The development of these 2 extensions is likely to cost far more than the original cost of Adastra Hall but in the same way raising hundreds of thousands of pounds didn’t deter our founding committee, nor does it us. As then, we will be funding this project by way of grants, and donations and legacies from residents who recognise the benefit that community halls bring.
We have now been granted planning permission and we can now start the process of funding the extensions. If you would like to speak to us about making a financial gift, or recognising us in your will, please contact our secretary Carolyn Barton via email – carolyn.barton@adastrahall.com or by post to Carolyn Barton, Adastra Hall, Keymer Road, Hassocks, West Sussex BN6 8QH.
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January 2024 – the great news is that our GREEN ROOM extension is fully funded – at a cost of around £330,000, the contractors have been booked and work will commence in haste on Thursday, 22nd February. The first 2 days will be spent creating a new storage space to the side of the stage, for table tennis tables, and securing the back of the building.
From Monday, 26th February our builders then move in. Creating a compound between the Sports Pavillion and the Sports and Social Club, the build will take around 12 weeks and the starting point will be a lot of heavy construction work to get the building watertight before the inside is fitted out. We expect to be opening the new space in June.
The project is being funded from the following organisations, and an anonymous individual to whom we are most grateful.
| GRANT SOURCE | VALUE |
| Mid Sussex District Council (Capital Grant from new housing developer contributions) | £224,000 |
| Bernard Sunley Foundation (www.bernardsunley.org) | £15,000 |
| Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust (www.ekct.org.uk) | £6,000 |
| Hassocks Parish Council | £30,000 |
| National Lottery Communities Fund (tables and chairs) | £9,200 |
| Private Donation (including Gift Aid) | £12,500 |
| Adastra Hall Reserves | £38,000 |
Friday 23rd February – Stage 1 complete. We have taken a little used corridor at the side of the stage and turned it in to a storage area for our 4 table tennis tables, which currently live in the green room. This space will be accessible from both the new green room and the hall making it easier for our users. The large decked roof area will be used to build additional storage for our hirers.
Monday 26th February- At the end of the first day, the site has been prepared, the old Green Room stripped, the foundations started and the roof tiles are off.
Thursday 29th February – In the last couple of days the team have dug the footings, achieved our first building control sign-off, and this morning pumped the foundations with concrete. Work has now moved indoors with the exposure of the original footings on which to base the steels, which are being measured on Monday.
Update – THURSDAY 7TH MARCH
update friday 29th march
The plan is that in just 3 weeks we will have the building roofed and windows in!
