FOUR Marks residents are being invited to have their say in a public consultation into the future of the village hall.

Four Marks has grown substantially since the village hall was built some 50 years ago and, as the expansion continues, the village is outgrowing the ageing, landlocked facility.

The existing hall has problems with inadequate parking, capacity to accept all bookings, increasing maintenance requirements, and facilities which do not match those of newer halls in the area.

However, it does have the advantage of a site right in the centre of the village, opposite the church in Lymington Bottom.

With the need for a new roof high on the agenda, triggering an immediate question over whether it is worth the expenditure if the building needs to be replaced, a public consultation has been launched, on line, in the village magazine, via social media and via hand-delivered leaflets, to gauge how residents would like Four Marks Parish Council to handle the issue.

The survey provides four different options to determine if the village believes the time has come to support the building of a large new community building, capable of accommodating all users and, if so, where it should be located.

A working group has calculated that a new hall would need to be some 20m by 65m in size with parking for up to 100 vehicles. This level of parking requirement would rule out using the existing site.

A public drop-in session is to take place tomorrow (September 26) from 4pm to 8pm at the village hall to enable residents to talk to councillors and ask questions on each of the proposed options.

* Option 1: Continue with the status quo and consider a new hall in the future: while there would be no immediate development cost and a continuing central location, there would be the disadvantage of continuing parking problems, some bookings having to be declined, facilities poorer than at new halls, and maintenance costs that may increase as the building ages.

* Option 2: Upgrade the existing hall: no new land required and central location retained but the disadvantage of difficulty in funding the costs, being a short term solution only as it is still a comparatively small hall, and nowhere for users to go while the hall is closed for improvement.

* Option 3: To build a new hall at the Recreation Ground: the land is owned by the parish council and the building could be phased as funding allows; cost of Phase 1 would be covered by the sale of the existing village hall site for house building; and no interruption for hall users as the existing hall would not be closed until the new one opens. Disadvantages would be the large footprint of a new hall plus car park resulting in a loss of green space, and a location on the edge of the village which would require some users to access by car.

* Option 4: To build a new hall on another site: While this would not use recreation ground space, there are no known sites currently available or identified in the village, any site is likely to be well away from the centre of the village, and it may be difficult to fund the cost of land purchase.

* Details of the consultation can be found at fourmarksvillage.co.uk/survey or e-mail comments to [email protected].