Darwin Hall Opening

Published: 14 June 2010

Lichfield's new Darwin Park Community Hall will be officially opened by the City's Mayor, Councillor Christopher Spruce, at 10am on Saturday, 26 June.

This will then be followed by an 'Open Day' until 4pm when everyone is welcome to look around the new hall. Events during the day will include:

- Stalls and displays by some of the local groups who will be using the Hall

- A workshop where you can make a textured clay tile; a selection of which will be used to form a large wall mural in the Hall - bring a small item of interest to you for making an imprint in your tile

- Free refreshments served by volunteers from the management committee

The Hall has been built by Lichfield City Council at a cost of £785,000 of which £750,000 was funded by Developer contributions. The hall has a main hall (seating 120) plus a meeting room and kitchen, and its day to day running will be undertaken by a new Darwin Park Community Association.

The Hall includes several 'green' features, including an under-floor heating system fed by a ground source heat pump which collects heat from 100 metres below ground.

Already there are several bookings, including a pre-school playgroup which will operate from the Hall weekday daytimes in term-time.

City Council Leader, David Smedley, said, "I am delighted that this project has at last come to fruition. Like other areas of the city, the residents of the new Darwin Park and Chesterfield Road estates need somewhere to meet as a community. The hall has been built to a very high standard, and with energy efficiency items such as the ground source heat pump and natural ventilation, it will be a low cost building to run."