This very grand building, Haling Dene Centre, is the home of a parish council. This surprised me, as most parish councils that I know can just about afford to rent out a village hall room for their monthly meetings, let alone run a rather portentous centre like this.
What's more the parish council concerned - Penkridge - has bought the place outright (it's not on a lease) and the facilities there are used extensively by locals. It even runs its own transport fleet!
Admittedly, Penkridge can safely be described as a large village, even a small town, but the whole set-up is still rather an impressive feat for a parish council - a body that is (essentially) the most ignored tier of local government...
It's perhaps over the top for a small town's hall.
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