Our lights and controls were upgraded in 2020, with thanks to the National Lottery.

What was the problem?

The lighting in much of the hall dated from the rebuild in 1981. (Read about the building history on this link)  This meant that many of the fittings had come to the end of their life. We could not replace failed tubes in the main room as the fittings were too worn, so eventually we would have been in the dark. The panels were also  discoloured and tricky to clean. Lights in the toilets were dated and scruffy, and although we had fitted low energy bulbs where we could, this didn’t work everywhere.

With the best will in the world, we were also finding that some lights were being left on. So we needed better and more modern lights for many reasons.

How was this funded?

The trustees are responsible for careful use of the hall finances. While we wanted to improve the building and reduce our energy consumption, we could not justify using reserves on this. Hence the application to the lottery fund.

We submitted our application in early March 2020 with an expectation of an 18 week decision time. The plan at the time was to do the work in the summer school holidays when the hall is quietest. The lottery moved much faster than this and we had the funds within a month – by which time the hall was of course closed due to the covid-19 lockdown. Restrictions were eventually eased so that the contractor was able to refine the quote, and then do the work safely with no-one else in the hall. All discussions were done either by phone or with social distancing and masks.

All works to the hall have to consider the safety of users, contractors and the building itself. A full asbestos hazard  survey has been done and the electrical system is checked five-yearly as per standards. The fluorescent tubes went for recycling and all the other waste was disposed of a by a registered waste contractor. The contractor is of course a registered electrician and works to British standards.

What has changed?

Main room: the fluorescents behind fly-trap panels have been replaced with sealed LED units. These will use much less electricity and provide a lovely clean (but not glaring) light. Controls are as before, you can switch on as many rows as you need.

Side room: the buzzy old fluorescents have been replaced with smart new LED strips. Again, switch on one or both as you like.

Entrance hall: the fluorescents have changed to smart black spotlights on tracks. These are angled to illuminate the walls and noticeboard, giving the whole space a much more welcoming feel and that all-important good first impression. And of course use a lot less energy.

Store rooms; fluorescent tubes replaced with LED panels in the ceiling grid. AND the lights are on sensors so will switch on when you enter the room, and switch off about 10 minutes after you leave.

Toilets; new clean LED fittings throughout in all three toilets (ladies, gents, disabled). Again, lights on sensors so nothing to touch when you enter the lobby of each toilet. Lights will switch on at any time and will stay on for around 10 minutes. This is good for hygiene at any time, and especially now when we want to reduce the ‘touch points’ in the hall.

Outside front door and car park: dated lights replaced with modern LED floods, again on sensors so your way will be lighted with nothing to switch on or off.

Here’s what it all looks like, with a before and an after for each room. Click on images for a bigger version and to scroll through.

The new lights make a huge difference to the building (and to our energy use). We look forward to welcoming our hirers back to use them.

A huge thank you to all who play the National Lottery! The scheme has funded the 1999 extension, the 2018 essential flooring works and now this. Pant Memorial Hall is very grateful to the National Lottery and all the players.