Welcome To the Church of All Saints

Forward Together in Christ

 

 

The Canada Hall Community Centre

 

We Need Your Help

Introduction

 

In January 2007 planning permission was granted to provide a new Community Centre on the existing Canada Hall site. The full plans are on permanent display at the back of both the church and Canada Hall.

 

Estimated cost looks like being around £700k. This is a considerable sum to raise and we are pursuing grant applications to external funders - an application has already been made to the Lottery Fund- but we also need as much financial help as possible from the local community.- indeed an, any funding from the external sources will almost certainly need to be matched by local funding. So we all have a critical part to play in providing the necessary local financial support to the project.

 

Some historical background to the project might be useful.

 

The origins of the current Canada Hall

 

On 19 April 1941 a parachute mine landed close to the original Victorian Church. The resulting explosion killed five local people and destroyed the church, the vicarage and the old hall. Thanks to a mixture of Christian generosity and a genuine feeling for the community, an Anglican priest George Hedley Wolfendale, serving with Canadian forces nearby, inspired the building of a temporary replacement church. The Royal Canadian Engineers carried out the task in an incredible five weeks enabling the new church to be dedicated on Easter Day 1943. Prior to the completion of the current church in April 1950, some 69 weddings had taken place in the temporary church.

 

Following the completion of he current church, the temporary church became know as Canada Hall and so began its current role as a church hall - one which it has been serving with distinction for well over 50 years.

 

So why replace Canada Hall

 

64 years is a long life for what was intended to be a temporary structure. Despite regular maintenance and a number of improvements being carried out over the years, the existing structure is now life-expired and beyond economical repair

 

The existing Canada Hall is the major community facility in South Merstham. It consists of effectively just one room (12 by 7 metres approx). Usage has broadened out widely since its initial role as a purely church hall and is now a regular home to a wide variety of organisations  serving both church and community - e.g. Brownies, Mother and Toddlers, WI,. It is now simply too small to cope with current demand.

 

So, after careful consideration, the decision was taken therefore to replace the existing building on the same site whilst being mindful of the need to respect the legacy and memory of Canada Hall and we will for example be careful to ensure that the inside of the building will pay tribute to those who helped create it’s predecessor

 

What will a Canada Hall Community Centre bring to South Merstham?

 

Independent investigation indicates that parts of Merstham is affected by one of the highest levels of deprivation in Surrey and the highest in the borough.

 

And not helping that is the fact that the existing Canada Hall is clearly too small to admit all those who wish to use it in South Merstham. There is therefore a desperate need for a larger and more modern community centre to meet the wide needs of the area. The Canada Hall Community Centre will provide this via much larger and significantly more flexible accommodation and facilities.

 

As well as allowing youth groups to admit greater numbers than currently possible it will enable different types of group to use the hall at the same time considerably increasing the scope of community facilities within South Merstham. It will be centrally located; be well-served by main bus routed and will also provide an attractive venue for small off-site business meetings.

 

So how can you help?

 

Clearly funding is a key issue and £700k is a very large sum to raise and as mentioned in the introduction, possibly up to half of this will need to be raised locally.

 

Here’s how you might be able to help:-

 

We will be running a series of fund-raising event to meet this need. These events will be publicised widely and we would ask you all to please support these events as generously as you can

 

By making a personal donation to the fund - nothing would be too small

 

If you are a business, either donations, grants or interest-free loans, or assistance in any way with construction would be greatly appreciated

 

Whom do you contact to help?

 

A small committee has been setup to help manage the project under the Chairmanship of Derek Hammersley. Specific responsibility for fund-raising within that committee falls to All Saints’ Treasurer, Ron Jones.If you are able to help in any way or have any other suggested sources of potential funding please contact the Committee by sending an email to enquiries@allsaintsmerstham.org.uk

 

Without local support this project will fail and a golden opportunity to improve the facilities available to the community of South Merstham and to soften the perception of Merstham’s status as a deprived area will be lost. Please let us work together to ensure the we succeed

 

Canada Hall Implementation Group

May 2007