Fundraising | Arbuthnot Hall

Shamley Green Village Hall: Update for Funders

The Shamley Green Village Hall Redevelopment Project has been declared fully funded and negotiations are underway with a contractor who is expected to start work on 1 July. This note provides an update for funders. Please ask if you need more detail.

Permissions. Following design and extensive consultation in the community, a planning application was submitted in July 2024 and approved in September 2024. There have been no changes to the approved design. The planning conditions are not onerous and we are confident they will be met.

Contractor selection. The Hall Management Committee employed the design team, led by Quarrey Architects (formerly Lytle Associates), a local firm of architects to design the project, tender it and manage implementation. They are supported by Quantity Surveyors, MEA and other consultants. On 20 February tenders were invited from four local builders with relevant experience. All four visited the site and submitted tenders. Two were ruled out on grounds of price: their tenders were significantly higher than the available funds.

The remaining two bids were scored by the architects, the QS and the Hall’s Property Team, which includes two chartered surveyors. They agreed that the remaining two contractors were well qualified to do the job. Negotiations are underway with the preferred bidder and we hope to sign a contract by the end of May.

A detailed report on the tendering process will be available if required.

Project Cost. Originally about £1.54m, this was updated by the QS in December 2025, after detailed design and site surveys, to £1.782m including all professional fees, client direct works and VAT. The tender responses, which coincided with recent developments in the Middle East, were all higher than the December figure. The post tender QS assessment of the total project cost is now £1.98m. This includes some ‘value engineering’ by the Hall Property team and the architects with the preferred contractor. The contract will be ‘fixed price’ for those items identified in the tender specification in order to minimise potential escalations.

The latest QS cost estimate is available on request. This shows a contingency of

£95,000, including VAT, after the building contract, client direct works and professional fees have all been taken into account.

Fundraising. The total funds raised with firm written commitments or paid in are £1.987m. The main elements of this are:

Your Fund Surrey: £900,000. The funding agreement is being negotiated and may include a ‘charge’ on the property.
Waverley Borough Council Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy: £360,000. The agreement has been signed.
Wonersh Parish Council: £100,000. We expect the agreement to be concluded in May 2026.
Private donations including Gift Aid: £511,000. Over £10,000 of this is from the Buy a Brick campaign.
Donations from Trusts (Weston, Wonersh Foundation, Sunley): £65,000.
Village Fundraising events: £30,000.
Donations from village societies and businesses: £21,000.

Some private donors, trusts and village societies understandably wanted to wait until the project was fully funded before paying in. We will ask them to pay in by 31 May.

The Hall’s Finance Team has assessed the cash flow and is confident that it can be managed with the drawdown arrangements already agreed with the major donors.

Project Management and Supervision. We expect to hand over the site to the builder on 1 July 2026. Day to day project management will be by Quarrey Architects, with Hall trustees who are chartered surveyors, acting as the client’s representatives. The contractor will submit monthly invoices in arrears. Quarrey will produce monthly reports on progress allowing the Hall trustees and the QS to judge whether the project is on schedule. These can be made available to funders who need them. Summary updates will be put on the Hall website.

Key Tasks/Dates

Build contract to be agreed and signed by end May.
Collect funds pledged by end May.
Finalise and sign remaining funding agreements by end May.
Strip out and remove fixtures and fittings – June.
Asbestos removal 29- 30 June.
Construction starts 1 July.
Construction complete June 2027.
Hall reopens June/July 2027.

Risks. The MC has discussed the remaining risks to the project. There is some uncertainty about building cost escalation given the Middle East situation. The MC judged that the fixed price contract, the sound financial position of the chosen contractor, the level of contingency and that tenders were invited when hostilities in the Middle East had already begun so contractors were aware, provided sufficient comfort to proceed.

It is possible that unforeseen challenges will emerge with the building work, but detailed studies have been done of foundations, drainage and the roof to minimise the likelihood.

We have taken care to consult neighbours about the building programme. They support it. We are obtaining permissions for contractor use of Common Land for parking to ensure that these do not delay implementation.

Publicity. We have recently announced that the project is fully funded and on schedule.

Shamley Green Hall Management Committee

10 May 2026

'Buy a Brick', Build a Legacy

The Shamley Green Village Hall 'Buy-a-Brick' Campaign continues!

Donating a brick creates a real legacy in the heart of Shamley Green and shows your support for the Arbuthnot Hall redevelopment.

Donating a brick ensures your name is registered and displayed in the Hall. Every gift makes you a Friend of Arbuthnot Hall (except for donors who’d like to remain anonymous). Please follow the link to find out further details.

Hit the link Donate to Support Shamley Green Village Hall redevelopment Buy-a-Brick and click to gift £50 to 'Buy-a-Brick' ensuring you send a message if you would like a different name displayed as the lucky brick’s recipient on our register. Of course please donate whatever you would like, but for this particular campaign we’ll register brick donations in multiples of £50. See the Hall’s website for T&Cs.

But perhaps you’re thinking bigger than a brick or two? If you’d like to adopt an area of the hall for a more sizeable donation the Chair would love to discuss what might be possible, please contact Jon Watson at: chair@arbuthnothall.org

Spread the word by spreading the link to your friends and contacts. Thank you for supporting the 'Buy-a-Brick' Campaign for the Arbuthnot Hall redevelopment.

More Donations

We know that more people in the village are considering making a pledge of support. We still need you. And if you would like to leave the Hall a bequest, as some kind people have done, we would be very happy to talk to you. Please contact Jon Watson on chair@arbuthnothall.org

Trusts

We already have a generous pledge from the Wonersh Foundation and will apply next to the Bernard Sunley and Garfield Weston Foundations, both of which support community projects like ours.

Friend of Arbuthnot Hall

Become a Friend of Arbuthnot Hall. This is a scheme preferably for regular donations, which attract Gift Aid at 25% as the Hall is a registered charity. Follow link for details including benefits . Since its launch in 2023, this scheme has raised over £30,000.

Please contact our Secretary, Paulina Bayliss, by email: secretary@arbuthnothall.org for more information.

Fundraising Events

The proceeds from some new and some previously planned events will contribute to the Hall Redevelopment Fund. These include:

Valentine Dance

Spring & Autumn Brocante Fairs

Quiz Nights

The Village Fete and Fun Dog Show (all 2025 proceeds to do to the Hall Redevelopment project)

Barn Dance

We need your help!

If you would like to join our Fundraising team or have ideas for fundraising please contact Jon Watson on chair@arbuthnothall.org.

​​Shamley Green Village Hall: Update for Funders

'Buy a Brick', Build a Legacy​

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