Church hall’s extension will be community hub

Villagers in the New Forest have been anxiously waiting for a new parish hall to open for almost two years.

Now Christ Church Colbury C of E Church has opened an extension to its church hall, which the Rev Paul Holley hopes will become a community hub.

The Ashurst church was buzzing as families were invited to see the new addition unveiled by the Bishop of Southampton, the Rt Rev Jonathan Frost.

Children - and adults - playing on the bouncy castle, mums chatting over tea and cake, families playing games – these are all sights that Mr Holley hopes will become a regular feature.

He said: “The extension means that we can accommodate a lot more events and our parish council have somewhere to meet.

“We have a lot of clubs here, brownies and guides, a mums and toddlers group, a widows group, slimming world but hopefully having this extra space can help us open our doors to more people to help the community’s health and wellbeing.

“Here at the church we recognise that a lot of people aren’t always able to come for Sunday worship but the church is more than that anyway and a good hall like this allows the community to be part of the church in different ways.

“We are looking for other ways to be here for the community and to help people feel connected to the church by doing things to unite us with clubs and events.”

The extension to the church hall in Dearleap Lane has extra storage space and can be used for parties, community events and meetings.