There will be a further public meeting run by Platt Parish Council on 9^th December to allow the public to raise any points concerning the proposal to grant money to the trustees of the Memorial Hall. Every house in the parish should have received a letter in October explaining what was proposed and, to date, the replies from those in favour have out-numbered those who are against the proposal. The replies, however, are just to allow our parish councillors to gauge public opinion on the matter; they are not bound by the outcome of the responses received. It is up to them to decide whether to apply for the loan from the Public Works Loan Board. A decision has to be taken at the January meeting of the Parish Council so that the cost can be included in the precept from April.

As explained last month, the Hall Trustees took the decision to ask for assistance from the Parish Council because the tenders for construction came in about 25% higher than we had anticipated, and although we have negotiated savings where we can in areas such as the external works, there is still a gap of around £100,000 which we need to fund.

The trustees are pleased that 227 dwellings within the village have already contributed in excess of £100,000, plus Gift Aid to the new building fund, and we have also attracted £125,000 in grant funding from other sources. However, since the original hall was constructed through public subscription in 1922, it seems appropriate that a share of the funding for the replacement hall is also provided by public subscription through a small additional charge on the council tax.

The Ceremony of Remembrance this year was the last time that this ceremony could be held at the old hall and is was pleasing to see a good turn-out of all ages present, including several people related to those who gave their lives and who are listed on the memorial. As part of the relocation of the memorial plaques, we will be adding an additional plaque to carry names missing from the existing three plaques. If you know of anybody whose name should be included, please contact me or any other trustee, so that we can research the background before adding the name.

There will be a New Year’s Eve party in the hall again this year – the last such party in this hall! Please contact David Vallance on 01732 883422 if you would like tickets so that he can get an idea of the probable numbers.

Sandy Mackay, Chairman of the Trustees