Our Aims

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Our mission is to create a welcoming, inclusive hub for an active, healthy community:

• enhance the recreational and social needs of our community

• promote health and well being

• provide activities to improve interaction and integration between all age, social and interest groups

• benefit individual groups with specifically focused activities

• draw together all sections of our community leading to fewer people experiencing feelings of isolation and loneliness

• provide a functioning centre for our own community which is easily accessible

To provide a welcoming and active hub for our community, with the means to achieve a healthy and well-integrated community, considerably reducing loneliness and isolation and forging a stronger bond between all age, social and interest groups through shared activities and social interaction at Lyng & District Community Hall.

History of the Project

1951 saw the conveyance of land from the Sayer family.  In 1953 the original building was built and used as a village hall and ex-servicemen's club for Lyng and nearby Sparham, and was registered as a charity in 1966.  

By the 1990's the hall was becoming tired and a team of volunteers started fundraising for a new hall.  In 2011 a full structural survey report revealed the building was not fit for purpose, and so a new project team of dedicated volunteers started work on getting Lyng a new village hall.

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On 13th June 2017 we were incredibly pleased and proud to announce that our application to the National Lottery Community Fund was successful and our community was awarded a grant of £744,516 to build a new village hall.

After a couple of failed attempts at Stage 1 to apply for funding from the National Lottery Community Fund in 2013 and 2014, a third application was successfully accepted at Stage 1 in November 2015.

The original team of volunteers that started fundraising for a new hall raised over £40,000

In 2017 we received a grant
of £744,526 from the Big Lottery Fund

The Community Fund plaque
at the new hall

A sincere thank you goes out to all the people and businesses that have supported, volunteered and donated to our new village hall project.  

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The following have given capital grants and donations towards the project costs, and equipment:

• National Lottery Community Fund

• Breckland Council

• The Garfield Weston Foundation

• The Geoffrey Watling Charity

• The Snelling Charitable Trust

• The Lind Trust

• The Paul Bassham Charitable Trust

• The Foyle Foundation

• Lyng Stores Ltd

• Lyng Activities Group (LAG)

• Norfolk Provincial Freemasons, Royal George Chapter 52

• Sport England

• Norwich Office Supplies

• Chapel Doors Ltd

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We have also had great support from many people and businesses through our Buy-a-Brick appeal raising over £5,500:

• Howdens Joinery, Dereham

• Draper & Nichols Ltd

• Manor Adventure – Norfolk Lakes, Lyng

• MJY Patterns, Lyng

• Lyng Stores & Tea Room

• MPH Ltd

• Norfolk Recycling Ltd

• Mattishall Pharmacy

• Norwich Viking Motor Cycle Club

• Enviro Timber Engineering

• Wensum Valley Nursery School, Lyng

• Friends of Lyng School (FOLS)

• Lyng History Group

• Wensum Valley Hand Bell Ringers, Lyng

• Women’s Friendly Hour, Lyng

• St. Margaret's Church, Lyng

• Bird Seed Sales, Lyng
  ...and to all the individuals and families that have donated too!

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The whole project was completed with much help from the professional services of:

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• Draper & Nichols Ltd

• Charles Emberson Architect

• MPH Ltd

• Andrew Morton Associates

• Norwich Office Supplies

• Britannia Blinds

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