With a new 21st century school being built 'fit for purpose' in the village of Raglan, the question now facing residents is what will replace the present community hall, a shared facility within the school, once demolition begins?

One of the original ideas was to demolish the old school and build houses on the site to help pay for the new build, but that plan was dropped following possible flooding problems from the brook.

While the new school will have some availability for community provision with a multi-purpose room with tea point being built attached to it which will take around 30 people standing up, the lack of daytime use will severley curtail daytime groups, in particular the elderly.

A public meeting earlier this year in the village highlighted the lack of community facilities and, recognising the situation, Monmouthshire County Council, (MCC) formed a working party with representatives of key groups from the village; the Raglan Village Hall Association (RVHA), a charity which works to improve the availability, quality and use of community facilities in Raglan, Raglan Community Council, (RCC) and the school governors.

Over the past six months, this partnership has met fortnightly looking at all the possible options.

Led by the RVHA, the group has been considering the need and options for community facilities.

A study has recognised potential users and discussions with a large number of the groups that meet in and around the village have taken place to understand their requirements.

Research has showed a desperate need for decent facilities and indicated that a facility that was similar in size to Llanfoist Village Hall (circa 500m2), easily accessible and have multiple rooms and a kitchen with good parking close by would best match the needs of the community.

With considerable commitment from MCC, the working group has identified three options available to them.

1 Refurbish the old church school which would cost the least but is smaller than required and would have little external space.

2 Refurbish the current junior school which could cost almost as much as new build but has twice the required space.

3 Build a new village hall on the junior school site. This would cost more than the others but would be fit for purpose from the start.

None of the options are cheap and would require external funding. It is hoped that a significant proportion of this would come from Lottery and Welsh Government funding with some support from MCC, RCC and the RVHA.

Critically any external funding would depend on proving the need and support for such facilities.

The RVHA has therefore run a two week community engagement exercise to share with the village all the ideas that have been put forward to date.

To make sure the RVHA captures everyone's feedback they are asking anyone over 10 years of age to complete a questionnaire either online or via hard copy.

The online address is http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3QWX3FL">www.surveymonkey.com/s/3QWX3FL and hard copies of the questionnaire can be obtained from the Post Office shop information station, at any of the events organised by the RVHA or by ringing 01291 690072.

A public feedback meeting will be held on Sunday 2nd November 2nd at in Raglan Baptist Church.

At the event the RVHA will feedback on the choices and messages that have come from the questionnaires and run through the next steps of the process.

Andrew Johnson, chair of the RVHA committee said: "We want to be able to demonstrate to residents that the working party has a clear mandate to go forward and that we have understood and can voice your thoughts and feelings over this."

"Our discussions with Llanfoist Village Hall clearly demonstrated to us that an actively promoted fit for purpose facility acts as a catalyst for local community engagement.

"A facility for the community run by the community with the management being focused on providing valuable social infrastructure rather than simply a financial transaction.

"The success of this model has formed part of the research we have completed in understanding both the needs of the village today, tomorrow and 20 years into the future."