Barkway Reading Room

7th July 2010
Listed building consent has been received for the work required in the Reading Room. Work is expected to start on 2nd August.

26th May 2010
We are pleased to announce that our application for a Herts Grass Roots grant of £5000 has been approved. This money will go towards the costs of bringing the Reading Room up to a viable and sustainable state. More details later.

19th April 2010
Following a recent inspection of the Reading Rooms by North Herts District Council Conservation Officer, we have been instructed that, whilst he understands the needs to replace the electrics and improve the insulation of the building, we are required to apply for listed building consent for all of the required works. This is an unforeseen circumstance, as we had been led to believe by NHDC that consent would not be required for the internal works. This is an extremely frustrating situation considering the advanced progress we were making with obtaining funding through grants. However, we believe this does not scupper the plans, but will certainly delay them by around 8 weeks.
We have appointed an agent and have begun the application process, and are hoping for a favourable response from the Conservation Officers in due course.
We are committed to putting the Reading Rooms into a sustainable and economically viable position and returning it to its historical and original use as a reading room and meeting place, and a pivotal point in our community.

29th March 2010
Following a recent Health and Safety inspection, several issues were identified forcing the Reading Room to be closed as a meeting place and “book exchange” centre. It is hoped that the closure will not be too long. Necessary electrical, heating and insulation work is to be carried out and your Parish Council has been actively seeking funds to cover the costs of the work. As a first step, we are extremely grateful to our County, Councillor, Tony Hunter, for agreeing to fund a large proportion of the money required from his “locality budget”. Councillors Ken McCormick and Gordon Baker are managing the project and residents will be kept fully informed as to the progress. We plan to have the Reading Room up and running as a pivotal centre of Barkway Village life as quickly as possible.