Plans to replace a community hall which has served a Powys border village for over 100 years have been lodged with planners.

Bedstone and Bucknell Parish Council wants to replace Bucknell’s ageing Memorial Hall with a new purpose built facility at Daffodil Lane Recreation Ground, and hopes the scheme will provide new and improved community facilities for the village’s “growing population”.

The applicant says the proposed new hall on the edge of the village would reduce the need for residents to travel to nearby facilities in Ludlow and Knighton.

“The proposal for a new Village Hall will provide much needed flexible community space and improved facilities for the village, in a low carbon, attractive and accessible building that will serve the village for generations to come,” said a planning statement submitted with the proposal.

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“Currently, activities such as yoga and badminton cannot be held in the Memorial Hall dues to its limited size, lack of parking and inability to host multiple activities at once.

"Many people in the village, therefore, have to travel to neighbouring places such as Ludlow, Knighton and Bedstone for these.

“The new hall will be able to hold more activities and events, creating a new hub for the community, helping the village’s development and catering for new growth, with plans for new housing already in place. ”

If approved by the council’s planning department, the proposed new building will be built alongside an existing changing room block built for nearby playing fields, with hopes it could encourage the return of the village football team.

The changing facilities were built in 2009 for Bucknell Football Club, who at the time were competing in the Mid Wales South League, but the changing rooms have been “mostly vacant” since the club folded around ten years ago.

“The overall size has been designed to accommodate the expected needs of the village, both now, and in the future and the main hall is sized to allow for indoor sporting activities, performance and other large gatherings.

“The provision of a second, smaller hall will allow multiple activities to happen simultaneously and therefore the need for Bucknell residents to travel to neighbouring towns and villages for certain activities.”

“The existing changing rooms could be used in conjunction with the main hall when required, and as overflow toilet provision and storage if needed. The proposed new development would also encourage increased use of the adjacent playing fields by the local community, and the return of the football team.”

Shropshire Council will decide on the plans in due course.