A sense of excited anticipation was in the air as we opened the doors of the Methodist Hall in Kingsbury to welcome residents of the north Warwickshire village and give them the opportunity to see the Kingsbury Hall scheme for the first time.
The event, held on Saturday 6th of October, was not only a chance for us to show local residents the proposals, but gave people the opportunity to have an input on what services and facilities should be provided in the renovated Hall.
The proposals include the renovation of the Hall into a publicly accessible community facility, as part of a wider over-55s and care village development. The scheme includes independent living in houses, supporting living in apartments and a High Dependency Care unit for temporary and long-term care; all benefiting from the stunning location with far reaching views over the Tame Valley.
A particular attraction of the event was the interactive 360 photographic scan of the building that we had brought along on two laptops, offering residents a chance to explore the Hall; a building that has always been in private occupation. Whilst this was the chance for many to see inside this much-loved local landmark, there were a handful of residents who attended who had lived in the Hall when it was a farm. The stories they shared brought the building to life in a new way, and they also shared new information with us.
Interactive activities were used to gather information about how people would like to use the Hall rooms and associated events spaces, and all visitors were asked to complete a questionnaire. Whilst there were clearly some questions and concerns from some people regarding extra pressures on the village’s infrastructure. we were delighted when we collated the information from the questionnaires completed, finding that 84% of attendees expressed their support for the scheme.
There was much talk at the event and afterwards about how this could be the beginning of a series of engagement events with the local community should Planning Permission be secured, ensuring that it’s the process and not just the end result that can add value to this village. Fingers are firmly crossed that we’ll be back!
