The fight is on to save a 100-year-old church hall in the village of Wroxham. 

A meeting is planned for Saturday, March 11 to see what can be done to preserve the hall, which the church is planning to sell because of rising costs. 

One hall user, Elizabeth (surname withheld) said the meeting would be at the church hall itself at 5pm.

She said of the planned sale: “Not only will this be a real loss to the community, but the church itself has no car parking facilities leaving nearby narrow roads congested when groups use the church. 

“The hall has been part of the community for a very long while. 

“Although in need of refurbishing, it deserves to be kept for the village.”

The hall marks its centenary this year. Over the years it has hosted amateur dramatics productions, concerts, parties, village events, the WI and thousands of meetings. 

Wroxham Parish Council said it had approached the diocese twice in recent years suggesting a partnership, replacing the building with a modern community centre.

Rev Liz Jump, vicar of the Wroxham Benefice, wrote about the planned sale in the village magazine, the New Bridge. 

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In her piece, she said: “Since 1953 the church has continued to run the hall, but the costs have increased.

"During Covid we lost all income, and there will be a great deal of work needed in the near future.

"We have had to look at the costs of running both the church and the hall, and we know that we can’t do both.”

She said the hall had been assessed by the diocese. 

Rev Jump said: “We agreed that, sadly, the time has come for us to let go of the hall.

"We are grateful to have had this building, and this decision isn’t made lightly.”

Rev Jump and the Diocese of Norwich have been approached for further comment.