Help us reach our fundraising goal! ​​

 

Hall Redevelopment Project Update

It has been a busy few months since we were offered the Your Fund Surrey grant of £0.7m in May. A lot has been done, but we have a lot still to do to get the project underway.

 

Building Work. The Management Committee decided to move ahead with the detailed design work to be led by our architects Lytle Associates. We expect this to be completed during the next few months, enabling tendering in January 2026 and contractor selection by March 2026. The YFS grant comes with a condition that building work starts within a year of grant signature, which should be this month. All being well, construction should start in May/June 2026 and last about a year.

 

Creation of Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). As advised at our General Meeting in April this year, a new CIO, known as Shamley Green Village Hall registered charity 1212460, has been created to operate the Arbuthnot Hall. All the Trustees of the previous charitable trust, (number 305149) have become Trustees of the new CIO.  In almost every respect, the CIO will function in the same way as the old charity, including an annual meeting to which all residents are invited and a process for groups that use the Hall to nominate people to the Management Committee (MC).

The establishment of the CIO was completed with the transfer of all of the Hall’s assets and undertakings on 31 July. The name of the charity and the bank account details remain unchanged, but CIO status brings the constitution up to date and gives trustees the protection they need to sign contracts for the building work.

 

Claiming Gift Aid. We claimed Gift Aid on all donations received before 31 July having consulted those concerned and HMRC have recently paid us the £26,000. From now we will claim Gift Aid when payments are made, which means they cannot be returned to the donor. But donors, who don’t want to pay until they are certain that the project is going ahead, can still wait until then. 

 

We have revised the donations form which is now on the website. This is for new donors. If you have already filled in a donation and Gift Aid form, HMRC have told us it will still be valid for future claims.

 

Fundraising. The YFS grant offer took us to £1.3m out of the £1.54m in the latest Quantity Surveyor estimate of the total project cost. Since then, our local fundraising has continued apace. We have raised another £20,000 from the Fete, the Barn Dance, more private donations and purchase of Bricks.

 

We have an exciting programme of autumn fundraising events. Please support them:

 

Sponsored Walk from Thursley to Shamley Green on Saturday 20 September.

Bingo Night in the Hall on Friday 26 September.

Film Season from 29 October - 6 November at Cranleigh Arts Centre, when Paul Smith will introduce screenings of three films on which he was executive producer: Slumdog Millionaire; The Descent; Separate Lies; followed by an evening of conversation when Paul discusses his extensive television, film and radio career with Cranleigh resident Richard Eyre, former chief executive of ITV.

Quiz Night on Saturday 22 November.

 

In July we submitted applications to the National Lottery (with a letter of support from our MP Sir Jeremy Hunt), the Bernard Sunley and Garfield Weston Foundations. And this month to Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) who manage a fund for village hall improvements. We should hear from the trusts in the autumn and know whether we have met the Lottery eligibility criteria by then too.

 

The YFS was keen for us to get a grant from Waverley Borough Council’s Community Infrastructure Levy. We are talking to Waverley and our Councillors about how to access these funds. We understand that Waverley is currently reviewing arrangements for CIL grants and has not yet invited bids for this year.

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'Buy a Brick', Build a Legacy​

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

In 2025 bricks are the perfect Christmas, birthday or anniversary gift, a lasting way to remember a loved one. Donating a brick creates a real legacy in the heart of Shamley Green and shows your support for the Arbuthnot Hall redevelopment. 

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

Sponsored walk

Bingo Night

Film Festival at Cranleigh Arts

Comedy night

Celebrity Cricket Match (most likely in 2026)

We aim to raise an additional £50,000 through these events. Please support our efforts by attending them and spreading the word.

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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.

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