Village Halls Audit
The first ever devon Village Halls Audit project is now complete. we are pleased to launch the final report and brand new village halls community asset map
Devon Communities Together began carrying out the first ever audit of Village Halls across Devon in September 2022. The programme was funded by Devon County Council Public Health, One Devon NHS and DEFRA. The project completed in March 2024, having carried out 339 face-to-face Village Hall audits.
Devon’s Village Halls and Community Buildings are significant community assets, but there has never been a central database containing information about the facilities they have or how they are used, until now. The audit was designed to find out what these community assets currently offer and to assess the underused potential that can be harnessed through the Village Halls that could provide even greater and vibrant services to their communities. The full report from DCT shares exclusive evidence on many key areas from audited halls, ranging from financial sustainability, digital connectivity and access to good quality Wi-Fi, to services for children and young people and environmental sustainability.
The Final Village Halls Audit Analysis Report report can be read here
Brand new Village Halls Asset Map
A key achievement from undertaking the Village Hall Audit has been using the data to create a brand new, first-of-its-kind Village Halls Asset Map; an online interactive service that allows users to search for Village Halls and Community Buildings in districts across Devon, choosing certain criteria and filtering results based on their facilities. This tool is straightforward to use and makes sourcing the right hall for your activity much easier.
The Village Halls community Asset Map can be seen here
The Community Asset Map will be maintained initially through any changes being communicated to DCT for amendment: info@devoncommunities.org.uk
Please note that mobile devices may experience issues accessing the Community Asset Map.
How will the audit information be used?
The information is used to build a picture of the community buildings across the county. If there is particular interest in one area, DCT may bring community building committees together to support progress. We also hope that this increased data will help to attract funding streams.
DCT has used the data to populate reports on Devon Village Halls and also findings on a district level. The final district reports are currently being written and will be sent to all the Village Halls that participated in the audit.
how DID YOU FIND the audit process?
Ian Huxtable on behalf of Stockleigh Pomeroy Village Hall said that his experience of the audit was good and the questions were straightforward to complete.
Jane Milton, on behalf of Dittisham Village Hall: “Having the audit of our hall was a positive experience - the questions were straightforward and it didn’t matter if there was one or two things I didn’t know. The DCT staff member was very friendly, and it provided the opportunity to hear what other Devon Village Halls are doing and to share knowledge and ideas, so I found it very useful."
