NEWS FEATURE
Community Hall Gains Council Approval to Hold Marriages and Civil Ceremonies
Mapplewell & Staincross Village Hall is the only Community Hall in Barnsley to be given approved venue status to allow Marriages and Civil Ceremonies to be carried out on their premises, at this time.
Nick Hibberd, Manager, said: “This is a community building run as a charity for the community so when we were approached by a local couple to see if they could host not just their wedding breakfast and evening celebration at the village hall, but also the official marriage ceremony, we decided to investigate further the potential of becoming an approved venue to satisfy their needs.
“We found that at that time there were just 13 approved premises in Barnsley that were suitably approved, and yet with the latest figures from the National Statistics Office showing that of the 250,000 weddings carried out in 2016, more than 75% of marriages were recognised as being ‘non-religious’ which meant they would have been carried out in properties such as our own,” he added.
A further investigation showed that there had been a gradual decline in the number of venues offered throughout Barnsley over recent years, providing even greater opportunity for Mapplewell & Staincross Village Hall.
“A proposal was put forward to the Charity Trustees who voted unanimously to proceed with the application which included a site inspection, the posting of a public notice to local residents to allow them the opportunity to object, as well as the payment of the three year license fee. However, it was recognised that as well as potentially benefiting the Village Hall financially in the longer term, there was a unique opportunity to offer something new to the local community as well as offer a new businesses opportunity to local businesses that provide wedding services, such as florists, photographers, wedding car providers and even hoteliers to name but a few,” added Nick.
One of the key benefits that Mapplewell & Staincross Village Hall has over other such community building is that it boasts not one but two large halls. These are ideally suited to offer one room for the civil ceremony to be carried out whilst the other room can be prepared as the main function room. In addition to this, it has an in-house kitchen and catering service as well as a licensed bar and free parking for more than 40 vehicles.
Anyone interested in having a civil wedding can contact the Village Hall direct on 01226 381006 but booking the registrar has to be done on-line through the Barnsley council website. This site also shows the other 14 locations in Barnsley currently vetted and approved.
“We hope that other businesses in the area will take advantage of this opportunity and use the Village Hall and our investment to better their own business and generate more income for the region,” Nick Concluded.
ENDS
NB
- In 2016, there were 249,793 marriages in England and Wales, 1.7% more than in 2015, but 1.0% fewer than in 2014.
- 2% of all marriages were between opposite-sex couples with only 2.8% or 7,019 marriages between ‘same-sex’ couples.
- Marriage rates for opposite-sex couples in 2016 were lower at all ages compared with 2006, except for men aged 60 + and women aged 50 +
- More than three-quarter (76%) of all marriages in 2016 were non-religious ceremonies.
ENDS