The story so far

Dandara Eastern Ltd were given the contract to build the housing development and applied for Full planning permission in 2023. On the 7th of June that year Little Dunmow Parish Council met with Dandara to discuss a number of matters, one of which was the proposed community building. After the meeting, it was felt that the building was perhaps too limited and that a larger building providing more facilities would be of much more use to the community.

Dandara were very receptive to the idea and asked us what we would want, stating they would be happy to build a more comprehensive building if the extra costs could be met.

It was clear this would be a significant project over a number of years so the Parish Council felt it would be necessary to find other people in the community with the time and expertise to devote to such a project. Little Dunmow Community Buildings Trust was conceived. A Charity organisation with the two aims of delivering the best community building possible and managing the building once built.

One of the first actions was to gather knowledge and ask other community buildings / village halls for their advice. Early in this stage, while attending a village hall conference, Essex County Council Early Years Learning division asked us if we would consider including a nursery facility in the building as there is a huge shortage in this part of Essex. We were also advised that this would be a source of regular income to help maintain the building. Additionally, ECC offered some funding towards the build costs.

Subsequently, we met with representatives of several other local community buildings and we must thank them for being so generous with their advice, a lot of what they have told us has gone towards decisions made in putting together a building design brief.

We were very impressed with the interpretation of our specifications and especially with some of the more contemporary additions.

We continued to refine the internal layout with the architect over several versions, culminating in the drawings below, dated 2nd August 2024.

The original office hub plans.

Due to the increased size of the newly proposed building, it had to be moved to the community garden site. The building is divided into two separate sections, one accommodating the nursery and the other dedicated to function rooms, meeting rooms and an office hub.

The red line outlines the position of the office hub.

From an early stage the style of the building was important, something that reflected the area’s rural nature. A barn style building was proposed, and the architect came back with this interpretation of how the building would look.

These are not the final versions, but we hope that in a couple of weeks we will have the final revisions which we can use to apply for planning permission.

Thanks must go to Dandara Eastern region and their architects for their help in producing these designs, all the other village halls and community buildings who gave their advice and shared their knowledge so generously, Essex County Council Early Years Learning division for their input on nursery design and especially the trustees of LDCBT who have worked hard to gather information necessary to put together a suitable building.

We also appreciate all those local residents who have given their views, commented on our social media posts and attended the launch event on 4th May, and we believe the building we have planned will satisfy their wishes.

The story continues and we will be grateful for any further feedback as we go forward.