Village halls and community buildings

How can I find information about using village halls and community buildings?

There are several websites which can help to find out where village halls are located and  provide details of venues and booking clerk contacts. The most commonly used are:

Village halls and rural community buildings (external website)

The East Riding Village Hall Network (external website)

Hallshire (community halls and venues for hire) (external website)

Many village halls and community buildings have there own web sites or provide contact details via parish web sites. You can find your nearest parish website below:

Find your nearest town/parish council. 

Parish clerks often keep the contact details for village halls, sports associations, and community groups in their area. You can use the parish council finder to locate information and the contact details for the parish clerk for a particular village. 

Why are village halls and community buildings important?

Village halls and community buildings provide venues where residents can meet to take part in a wide range of activities. They are an important hub for community activity and act as social meeting places. Rural community buildings in the East Riding provide venues for key services such as post offices. 

What is the role of the council in relation to rural community buildings?

The council has a number of roles including:

• landlord - approximately 20 village halls and community buildings in the East Riding belong to the council and are leased to the community

• regulator - certain activities that take place within village halls and community buildings are regulated. e.g  Premises licences which permits a variety of types of entertainment and playing live music. For further information contact see the Premises licences section.

What support is available to rural community buildings?

The council supports rural community buildings in a number of ways:

Where buildings are registered charities they can apply for and receive rate relief. 80% relief is mandatory for charities and the remaining 20 percent is dependent on the location and range of activities that take place within the building. 

The rural policy and partnership service support the retention and development of rural community buildings by raising awareness of issues, responding to consultations on regulatory regimes and strategic development. For further information:

The councils external funding team provide advice and support to rural community buildings.

The East Riding Association of Rural Community Buildings was formed in September 2011 to provide mutual support and advice to village halls and rural community buildings. This allows volunteers to come together to exchange ideas, receive training, share equipment and work together to achieve discounts through suppliers of insurance and other services.

For more information please visit:

East Riding Association of Rural Community Buildings (external website)