Barnham Community Hall opening hours as set by Arun District Council are to 11pm on a Friday and Saturday night. This means customers must vacate the building by 11pm sharp meaning Weddings, Parties and Fundraising events need to wrap up around 10:30 in order to clear up and leave when the doors are locked to all. Other local Halls opening hours on a Friday and Saturday are to 12pm and later on New Year’s Eve.

This restriction has put the hall at a great disadvantage, in our first year we have been unable to run a Community New Years Eve event and are losing business because of this unfair restriction. It puts our Hall and community at a distinct disadvantage to other halls and communities in the area. Recently we put forward a planning application to Arun District Council to extend the hours to match all the other halls, although approved by the Planning Department the members vote meant the request for approval was turned down.

We are mounting an appeal against this decision so our community is not disadvantaged in comparison to other communities. The objective of the Charity running the hall is to offer low hire charges to Community Groups, Charities and Fundraising events and that Weddings, parties and events subsides these groups With the continued loss of revenue due to opening hours restrictions this might not continue.

We would ask if you support our appeal against the decision to refuse extended Opening Hours at Barnham Community Hall if you would sign our petition. We would also appreciate if you could forward details on this petition to on your friends and family. Thanks