Farnsfield’s Village Centre may become unusable in ten years time unless substantial sums of money are spent on it. So says Newark District Council’s architect Gordon Stobbs in a report prepared for Farnsfield Parish Council.
The building is presently owned by the Southwell Diocese, having been donated to the village by Sir Stuart Goodwin. He converted the building from an old malting house. Since then the Village Centre has been run by a Management Committee which, starved of finacial resources, has been forced to merely keep the premises in use. Now the Parish Council hopes to acquire the building in order that it can be improved and extended to provide much needed facilities for Farnsfield people of all ages.
Newark District Council has allocated £75,000 in its budget to Farnsfield as a result of the savings on the Southwell Sports Hall and providing the asking proce is right it is hoped that most of this amount will be able to be allocated towards a #100,000 refurbishing and rebuilding programme.
In the meantime the Management Committee has obtained the services of the Project Based Work Experience Scheme to redecorate throughout. This is nearing completion and coupled with improved heating the Centre offers first class facilities at ridiculously low prices. A large hall is available for badminton, dancing, parties, cinema, amateur dramatics at only £2 per hour with a smaller hall from £1.50 an hour for meetings, discos and smaller parties. There is also a small meeting room available and upstairs a hall where the Brownies, Guides and Cubs meet. Full catering facilities are avialable.
The Centre is a hive of activity with Coffee Mornings held every Saturday between 10.00am and 12.00 noon. Why not call in for a chat, coffee and home made cakes. Orange and biscuits for younger patrons are available.
In the upper hall the Farnsfield Amateur Dramatic Society have during the school half term holiday put on ‘Puss in Boots’, a pantomime written especially for FADS by Ray Coates.
Almost every evening there is an activity based at the Centre. Every few Saturdays the upper hall takes on a rapid conversion into a Mini Cine. Farnsfield’s Mini Cine advertised regularly in the Bramley has been packing in the children on a Saturday afternoon cartoon shows but its next film is for the slightly older audience – James Bond in ‘For Your Eyes Only’ will be on the big screen at 7.30pm. Tickets available from Monty Wright or on thedoor are 45p for children and 80p for adults.