Clear the air meeting called

A PUBLIC information meeting will be held next Wednesday regarding plans to keep St Andrew s Parish Hall, Soham, for the community. The meeting has been called by the Soham Community Hall Trust in a bid to clear up any uncertainty about what we are tryin

A PUBLIC information meeting will be held next Wednesday regarding plans to keep St Andrew's Parish Hall, Soham, for the community.

The meeting has been called by the Soham Community Hall Trust in a bid to "clear up any uncertainty about what we are trying to do" according to its vice chairman, Peter Beer.

Opinion in the town is split over the parochial church council's decision to sell the hall and surrounding land to a developer if planning permission for houses on the site can be obtained.

The trust, which is seeking charitable status, wants to be in a position to buy the hall and keep it in community use should the housing deal not go through.

Mr Beer said he wanted to see supporters and opponents of the community use plan to attend the meeting.

"We have got nothing to hide. We want to bring everything out, to make it clear what our aims are, how we are working, who we are...everything," he said.

The trust wants to raise substantial funds - up to £500,000 has been mentioned - via a series of pledges so it can be in a position to buy the site if the current deal does not go through.

"If the buyer doesn't complete the sale, perhaps because planning permission will not be allowed, then we have to be in a position to do our own deal. But the value of the site will vary considerably if planning permission for houses doesn't go through," said Mr Beer. "We want to be able to come up with intelligent solutions to this situation.

"Clearly, we would ideally like it to continue as a building for community use and car parking."

INFO: The meeting will be held at Soham Comrades Club on Wednesday, June 6 at 7.30pm.