Please see the below announcement by #Nocton Parish Council about the building project. As anticipated there will be an extended deferral to our planned opening date due to the remaining finishing touches and certifications that will be required once activity can resume following Covid-19 restrictions being eased.

Clearly this will have an impact on all of the group, individual and function bookings of the Hub as well as The Ripon Arms for the medium-term future. The Nocton Hub Working Group will keep you fully informed over the weeks ahead as soon as we can provide any forecast of when we can - finally - welcome you to the new heart of the community. We will also plan in the background with local stakeholders for an amazing official opening weekend 💚💖

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Statement from Nocton Parish Council on completion and opening of the Nocton Hub - 1 Apr 2020

The Parish Council would like to give you a short update on the future completion and opening of the Nocton Hub. What follows is our best assessment of how things will pan out, based upon regular conversations with the Contractor and our understanding of the Government’s position on Covid19-related emergency measures.

The building work is almost finished and Maher Millard is continuing to work on The Hub until at least the end of this week. Many items, mostly minor and nearly all of which are dependent on sub-contractors, remain to be completed. However there are now many challenges around the availability of materials and the ability of sub-contractors to work. By the end of the week Maher Millard will leave the Hub secured and will not return to site to complete all the pre-handover steps until Government permit. There will, therefore, be no formal handover of the building to the Parish Council for the foreseeable future as this would require the building to be fully certified and essentially complete. It also depends on the availability NKDC Building Control and our Insurers.

At this stage, therefore, we must assume that work will stop with the building incomplete. When Government restrictions are lifted, however, it will not simply be a case of continuing work. It will be a time when everyone across the country will be trying to resume at once and we may have to renegotiate timetables for action in a very difficult situation. We consider it safe to assume that, given the go-ahead, it will take at least eight weeks to commission the building, complete the essentials and make it ready for letting. This estimate could, of course, change when we see what has been achieved during this week and as the Government’s intentions to manage the current emergency are developed. However, until the national situation becomes clearer, I cannot see the building being ready for lettings until the late summer/early autumn.

The Parish Council, through the Parish Clerk, and, of course, the Nocton Hub Working Group are doing as much as they can in the meantime to prepare for the eventual re-opening of the Hub. For obvious reasons, however, some of the necessary arrangements and sign-offs cannot be concluded until the building is available for use.

The Parish Council is aware that the community’s patience and forbearance will be sorely tried in the ensuing interval but recognition of the realities of the situation can be 90% of the cure. We will work tirelessly on your behalf to ensure the Hub is open as soon as we can safely conclude any remaining work and permit responsible social gatherings within our village.

- Nocton Parish Council