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Our history

In 1944, the ‘The Village Association’ was formed, who were tasked with raising funds for a War Memorial to take the form of a “first-class Village Hall and enlargement of the Recreation Ground”.  Fundraising began for the estimated  £15,000 cost.
 
By 1951, the Recreation Ground has been extended by more land purchase, the Tennis Courts laid out and the Football field leveled.
 
In 1957, the Association suggested building a new hall on the Recreation Ground, cost at £8,000, to be paid for by the sale of the old hall and the land on which it stood (now Lovelinch Gardens shops).  A secret ballot at a public meeting in May that year voted for a new building and with this sale, along with a grant of £2,000 from the Rural District Council, the money was available to make plans.
In June 1959, the Foundation stone was laid on the Recreation Ground at Keedwell Hill and on 14th November 1959, the hall was officially declared open.   Further, plans included the provision of a Youth Hut alongside the hall and a bowling green, the latter coming to fruition in 1986. A Garden of Remembrance was laid out shortly after the opening which was later demolished when Keeds Hall was built on the land. 
Have a look at this album by ‘Discover North Somerset’, found by clicking here. If you scroll down to the end of the album, you can see photos of what the village hall looked like in 1960.

In October 1996,  a public meeting voted unanimously to expand the building, due to the fact that the facilities were being fully utilised. Long Ashton Millennium Project (LAMPRO), consisting of local residents, was set up to raise funds and manage the provision of the new facilities.   User groups began holding events and dances with proceeds going to the Redevelopment Fund. 
In 2002, the Club Room used initially in the main by the Youth Club,  and now incorporating the Cafe, was completed, followed by the  Jubilee Pavilion in 2003.

Between 2001-2004, the children’s playground, the arena, and the youth shelter bandstand all received a complete overhaul.

In 2008, the tennis pavilion was built, and in 2013, Peel Park, with pitches for the Junior Football Club, was laid out and ready for use.

A sum of money from the development of Long Ashton Research Station land enabled the completion of the later stages and LAMPRO was wound up in 2009. 

Since 1965 the area has been managed by Long Ashton Community Association (LACA), successors to the Village Association, who handed over ownership of the land to the Parish Council at that time.

Many thanks to Jean Pullin (Local History Society) for contributing the interesting content on this page.
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