Goodworth Clatford Village Club has reopened after a £70,699 refurbishment: new windows and doors and a refitted interior, paid for by a Test Valley council fund.

Goodworth Clatford Village Club has reopened after a refurbishment paid for with £70,699 from Test Valley Borough Council’s Community Delivery Fund. Volunteers, trustees, contractors and councillors marked the finish of the work at the club on Friday 16 October. (Test Valley Borough Council)

Goodworth Clatford is a village about two miles south of Andover.

What the money paid for

The council says the grant funded:

  • new windows throughout
  • new external doors
  • a refurbishment of the interior

The aim was a warmer, safer and more welcoming building. The council also says the work should help the club’s long-term finances, which matters for a building run by volunteers.

The project started with the village. When the club asked residents what they wanted, 180 of the village’s 332 households replied, a response rate of more than half. The council’s community engagement officers then worked with the club committee from the first plans to the finish.

What the club is for

Every Goodworth Clatford resident is automatically an associate member, with no fee. The parish council’s page for the club says villagers are encouraged to join the club’s 100 Club or give an annual donation towards its upkeep. (Goodworth Clatford Parish Council)

The building has a hall with a stage and a kitchen, and a snooker table. The club also has two tennis courts and two 6m by 3m gazebos, all of which can be hired. Its entertainments committee runs quizzes, plays, talks and concerts, with tickets sold at the Village Store.

What they said

David Grey, Chair of the Trustees of the Village Club, said: “We’re incredibly proud of what has been achieved.” He said the improvements “have made a huge difference, creating a more comfortable and welcoming space for everyone who uses it”.

Councillor Stewart MacDonald, the council’s portfolio holder for community-led projects, said: “The transformation of the Club is remarkable. Goodworth Clatford Village Club has always been an important part of village life.”

Councillors Maureen Flood and Susanne Hasselmann also attended the reopening.

What it means for you

If you live in Goodworth Clatford, you are already a member. The hall, tennis courts and gazebos can be booked for private functions through the club; the details are on the parish council’s village club page.

If you run a village hall or club elsewhere in Test Valley, this is the fund to look at. The Community Delivery Fund works with community groups on building projects. Earlier this month it also backed the recreation hub at Sherfield English and plans for Landale Wilson Hall at Enham. The village’s own survey, with more than half of households replying, is the kind of evidence of local support the council cited for this one.

Sources