Priory Hall and Covid-19

This account of the work of the Management Committee that has been written as part of a record of Coronavirus life in Much Wenlock.

On 9th March 2020, Priory Hall held its AGM, immediately followed by one of its regular Management Committee meetings. The minutes of that meeting record that the Chairman had received “a flyer regarding information on the Coronavirus” and it was agreed that copies of the flyer would be printed and displayed in the Hall. At that time just 321 cases of Covid-19 had been recorded in the UK. We knew then that infections were likely to spread and that those aged over 70 and other vulnerable people would be asked to stay indoors but did not anticipate that our activities would be greatly affected.

Later that week though we realised that we needed to consider contingency plans and decided it would be a good idea to hide our stocks of toilet paper (which at that time was fast disappearing from retail shelves!). Just over a week later, on 23rd March, a national lockdown was announced and the Hall was obliged to close completely.

Priory Hall normally hosts many regular community activities and groups including yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, meditation, Silver Movers, Slimming World, children’s cookery, U3A, Civic Society and WI. It is also frequently used for parties, social and cultural events, weddings and funeral receptions, christenings, celebrations, meetings, talks, presentations and civic functions. The Committee were thus very sad to close the Hall and hopeful that it would be possible to re-open in a few weeks time.

The spread of Covid-19 infection unfortunately meant that lockdown continued for several months and it was only by the end of June that community halls could consider re-opening. This would, however, only be possible with considerable effort to meet the extensive regulations to allow the building to qualify as a “Covid-19 secure venue” which would enable it to offer a greater range of uses. After consultation with regular hirers, it was agreed to seek to re-open the Hall at the beginning of September, since few wished to begin again before then.

At its meeting on 13th July, the Committee decided to form four sub-groups to undertake the necessary preparations; looking at cleaning, communications, procedures & signage and practical adjustments to the building (including sanitising gel stations and kitting out an isolation room should anyone be unfortunate to develop Covid-19 symptoms whilst at the Hall). After many on-line meetings, countless emails and negotiations, deep cleaning and some anxiety, a final walk-through to check the risk assessment was completed on 28th August and the Hall was re-opened on 1st September. Our Chairman made a video (with jaunty gypsy jazz soundtrack) showing all the secure features which was put onto the Hall’s website.

Re-opening would not have been possible without much hard work by all members of the committee and the agreement by regular hirers to enforce necessary social distancing and movement measures and to sanitise furniture and touch points after their event. Chairs could not easily be sanitised quickly but users readily agreed to separate used chairs so that these could be sanitised by the Hall’s cleaners (Charlie’s Angels) later. Initial use of the Hall was limited to two regular hirers per day, to allow for professional cleaning before each booking.

Unfortunately, the second wave of the virus infection meant that further measures were successively introduced which limited potential use of the Hall. Soon after re-opening, on 8th September, the “rule of 6” was introduced which effectively meant that social events could not be hosted. On the 12th October the first tiering system came into effect but fortunately Shropshire was put into Tier 1 which meant little further limitation. However, a further national lockdown proved necessary and the Hall closed again on 4th November. The lockdown was lifted and the Hall re-opened on 2nd December but the placing of Shropshire in Tier 2 meant that only physical and exercise classes could continue. The Hall closed again with the introduction of the third national lockdown on 5th January 2021.

Government grant funding was made available to community halls to compensate for loss of income during lockdowns and, after some debate, the Committee decided to apply for a grant. This has enabled a number of improvements to be made, including a secure electronic door-lock (removing the need for hirers to collect keys kindly kept by Mrs P’s confectioners) and an online-controlled thermostat enabling often chilly rooms to be warmed up before they are used. Both of these innovations were skilfully introduced by new Bookings Secretary, Di Theobalds. The Committee also decided to halve the fees paid by hirers for the first few months of re-opening.

The restrictions necessarily imposed to halt the spread of the virus have been difficult for everyone and they have prevented many happy events taking place at the Hall. The experience though has not been without its benefits, in particular in bringing members of the Committee closer together, using their strengths in working to re-open the Hall and in emphasising the value placed on the Hall by its community of regular users and their willingness to undertake extra effort to protect visitors.

Robert Toft
Priory Hall Committee Member
January 2021

The Priory Hall Management Committee members in 2020/21 were David Turner (Chair), Lesley Butler (Secretary), Karen Wordley (Treasurer), Mark Butler, Libby Fitton, Faith Graham, Anne Gribbin, Marjorie Lee, Di Theobalds, Robert Toft and Duncan White.

 

Copies of the book Wenlock's Covid Chronicles are available from Much Wenlock Town Council.