A new, environmentally-friendly village hall is planned for St Mary in the Marsh after its existing one's roof collapsed.

The current village hall was built in 1922 and was used frequently until the 1990s, but has fallen into a state of disrepair ever since.

The roof collapsed in 2019, and is now considered a 'dangerous structure'.

Now, the St Mary in the Marsh Project Fund have submitted plans to demolish the dilapidated hall, and build a new one in its place.

It will be 20m by 6m in size, and big enough to accommodate 60 people.

Internally the building will provide a main hall together with toilet facilities including disabled, kitchen and storage area.

There will be 12 parking spaces, two disabled bays and a cycle rack to the rear of the building.

When the hall is not in use the church parishioners can use the parking area.

Its wooden design is in keeping with the rural area, planning forms state, and when observed from the road, the building can be "construed as another barn in the area".

Planning documents also say the firm behind the build, Passmores, look constantly for ways to reduce their carbon footprint, cut down on waste and avoid the use of harmful chemicals.

As such, the building components for the new hall will be delivered unwrapped and protective sheeting re-used or recycled.

Passmores, based in Rochester, also bulk buy to avoid blister packed or shrink-wrapped materials.

In addition, they only use use ethically-sourced timber from Northern Sweden. For every tree that is harvested, two more are planted, ensuring the forests are never depleted.

The car parking area and footpaths will have plastic grids over them, which is the most environmentally friendly solution, allowing drainage.

Planning literature, from Helix Planning Advisors, reads: "St Mary in the Marsh, is in a very rural area with hardly any amenities for the community.

"The applicants being the St Mary in the Marsh Project Fund want to bring back a village hall to hire out for community events and to use for events they will run too."

The planning application has been submitted to Folkestone and Hythe District Council, and a decision is expected in the coming weeks.

To see more public notices, visit www.kentonline.co.uk/advertise/public-notices/

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