Village and Community Halls: A guide to Surveys

The resource was instigated by ACTion with Communities in Cumbria who, when working with halls across rural Cumbria, found there was variable knowledge amongst funders, surveyors and village hall committees about what was needed and required in procuring and carrying out surveys of village halls and similar rural community buildings.

The guide has been authored by Ben Stagg, Director of stagg architects who wrote ACRE’s net zero design guide in 2024.

The guidance takes a hall committee through the benefits of obtaining a survey, explains different types of surveys and how to go about engaging a surveyor. The section for surveyors will be useful for hall committees to share when commissioning their surveyor. There is also a comprehensive chapter on energy surveys.

Surveys are important because they help ensure your hall is kept in a good condition and that alteration and improvement work is appropriate and beneficial.  They don’t just describe the existing situation; they can also be used to identify improvement works and assess and evaluate recommendations.

Julie Minns, Member of Parliament for Carlisle and North Cumbria said: “This is an invaluable guide. Community buildings are an important focal point and resource for local people the length and breadth of the country. They are particularly important in rural areas where geographic and social isolation are great. The vibrant and varied activities in the community centres in North Cumbria, are proof of just how needed and valuable this guide from ACRE is.”

The National Lottery Community Fund were pleased to support this guidance through an initiative of the ‘Northumberland, Durham and Cumbria Community Places’  project that they fund.

The National Lottery Community Fund provide grants for hundreds of village halls every year.  Duncan Nicholson, Regional Head of Funding for the North East and Cumbria said: “Due to the generosity of National Lottery players we are able to support the innovative and vital work that projects like this deliver. Communities across Northumberland, Durham and Cumbria Community spaces will be able to continue to use much needed locally based accessible venues assured that buildings are fit for purpose and protected for future generations.”

“This guidance, that ACT have commissioned will inform, protect and support community building volunteers to understand and prioritise the work they need to do to make their buildings as sustainable as possible for the future. We welcome this user-friendly advice; it is clearly written, detailed and well indexed so volunteers can see the info they need quickly”

Lorrainne Smyth,
Chief Executive ACTion with Communities in Cumbria