Historically, Linslade Parochial Church Council, the owners of the Hall, first really became aware of the condition of their Hall following the commissioning of a survey of the building by Chartered Surveyors, Anderson Wilde & Harris Ltd in September 2003. The surveyors report in late 2003 revealed a number of worrying major issues, amongst their recommendations were: • The complete replacement of the roof due to it’s overall condition and the distortion of the roof on the right hand side extension. • Demolition and rebuilding of the right hand extension due to continued structural movement which had not been effectively corrected previously. • The demolition and rebuilding of the cottage to enable  an effective use of the space. • The refurbishment and upgrading of the public facilities  including the creation of more adaptable spaces. Essentially, what we are doing now! A ‘Site re-development committee’ was formed by the P.C.C. to formulate a plan to determine the underlying philosophy and what kind of facilities would need to be provided by a redevelopment project and make suggestions as to how such a project might be funded. Subsequently, the requirements for the new Hall were agreed following input from regular users and other interested parties, an architect selected, drawings produced and fund raising commenced. It was originally intended that there should be three distinct stages to the restoration to spread the fund-raising effort of the estimated £500.000 cost over a longer period. Stage 1, the first phase was the  provision of a new building connecting St Barnabas Church and the Hall - known as The Link, this provided a common and fully accessible entrance to both. The Link was completed in October 2006, this stage included a disabled toilet and nappy changing facility which  subsequently won the South Bedfordshire Urban Design Award. This stage also saw the provision of a new gas supply, new drains and sewers  all ready for the next stages.  In November 2006 it was decided on the advice of the Architect to complete Stage 2b next, was this phase consisted of replacing the life expired front windows, repairs to stonework and the total replacement of the roof. When the new windows were finally installed in February 2008, this stage was deemed complete. The objective is to provide a much needed facility for the rapidly expanding community and it’s need for meeting places for it’s social, arts and recreational organisations. Did you know? The Architect for the Restoration Project is John Hardern of David Scott Architects and to ensure consistency through the project all the Architect’s fees for the whoe project were paid as part of  Phase 1.