Securing sustainable funding remains one of the greatest challenges for village halls across the UK. In this eye-opening conversation, we explore a straightforward path to financial support through the Movement for Good initiative by the Benefa...

This episode uncovers the role of village hall trustees, delving into their responsibilities, the importance of governance, and how they can engage younger members of the community. Through dialogue with community expert Caro Hart, listeners le...

In this episode of The Village Halls Podcast, host Marc Smith interviews Bernard Hammick, Managing Director of Hallmaster, a digital booking system tailored for village halls and community venues. Bernard shares his journey into the digital rea...

Unlock the secrets to preserving the heart of your community as we uncover the art of floor maintenance in village halls with renowned experts Tim Derbyshire from Total Floor Care and Graham Hickman from Junckers. You'll learn why choosing hard...

Discover the secrets behind the extraordinary transformation of Great Whittington Village Hall with insights from Philip Hinchcliffe. This episode promises to reveal how a once cold and underused school building became a bustling, eco-friendly ...

The podcast focuses on Ellingham Village Hall and its journey from being an outdated, underused space to a vibrant community hub. The guests, Chris Stevenson and Gustav McLeod, share how they led the Village Hall Committee through extensive fun...

In today's episode, we’re talking about the North Moreton Village Hall, winners of the Village Halls Inspirational Awards 2023. We’re joined by Jo Nickless, who played a key role in their success. North Moreton stood out for their innovative ap...

In this episode of the Village Halls Podcast, Marc Smith introduces himself as the new host, taking over from Johnny, who has been the voice of the show since 2021. The episode reflects on the journey of the podcast, highlighting memorable mome...

Johnny and Gavin are back after several months away to announce the three winners of our 2023 Village Halls Inspiration Awards. Judging was incredibly challenging, but we managed to finally whittle all the entries we received down to three, and...

Worminghall Village Hall in Buckinghamshire has attracted more than 20 volunteers and an enviable number of visitors thanks to a community business it's developed. Linda Hughes, who has entered their project into our Village Halls Inspiration A...

You can now enter our Village Halls Inspiration Awards on line, with the chance of winning either £1,000, £1,500 or £2,500 in funding for your hall, courtesy of our show sponsors Allied Westminster. So what are you waiting for? Start thinking a...

Has your village, church or community hall delivered or achieved something that could inspire others around the country? If so, you could receive £1,000, £1,500 or even £2,500 in this year's Village Halls Inspiration Awards. Find out more...

There are many unsung heroes in villages across the UK and for this episode we celebrate with one of them, Joan Maxfield, our very first Unsung Hero Award winner. We also hear from Daphne Gwilliam, who nominated Joan for her award, and Simon Bl...

How can you encourage young people to get involved at your Village hall? For this episode, Johnny is joined by Sue Lees and Netty Firman from the Stafforshire village of Grindon, who nominated 26 year-old Hannah Blissett for our Young Person’s ...

Internet connections in outlying villages are not often the best, but is having a super-fast network always a good thing? Our latest guest is Marc Smith, who is majorly responsible for an unbelievably fast connection being available in his remo...

Sharing old stories can often create a sense of belonging for those who live in small rural villages. Stuart Plant, Chairman of Middleton & Aislaby Village Hall joins us to talk about a book and a digital memory bank designed to preserve th...

We look back at a few of our episodes from Season 2 and 2022, covering everything from community businesses to fancy-dress frivolity. Enjoy our round up of the year. Thanks to all of our guests who joined us in 2022 and special thanks to all of...

It's the one you've all been waiting for! Who are the winners of this year's Wonderful Villages Awards? Our judges have reached their decisions and Johnny is joined by two of the panel, Simon Bland from Rauceby Village Hall and Gavin Mitchell f...

Almost a quarter of adults in the UK say they’ll be keeping their heating turned off this winter because of rising energy prices. So what can halls do to help? Lizzie Kingston from Framlingham Unitarian Meeting House tells us how they, together...

Entries have now closed for our Wonderful Villages Awards, so what happens next? Johnny is joined by Gavin from Allied Westminster and Finn the dog, to keep village halls up and down the country up-to-speed with when and how our five winners of...

Energy costs have gone through the roof recently and this has presented a big challenge to community buildings up and down the country. However, one village hall has thought of a great idea that not only improves the efficiency of their heating...

Losing someone close to you is never easy.  However, when people come together to celebrate their life and remember them fondly it can help to ease some of the pain. Last year, the village hall in Croft-on-Tees became the centre-point of a...

Sadly, some village halls are no longer the big attraction they once were. So how can things be turned around? Andrew Ayers is a committee member at Irby & Bratoft Village Hall, where in the space of just a few years, the hall and village c...

Time is running out for the chance to win £1,000 for your village, church or community hall. The Wonderful Villages Awards programme recognises the incredible contribution village halls and other rural community buildings make across five categ...

Are you worried by news that rural crime is on the increase? Security expert (and heatwave dog-sitter) Dave Reynolds from RiskSTOP,  looks at whether things really are getting worse out there. Plus... the kind of things you can do to keep ...