The Cross Ash Village Hall Committee hosted a wonderful open afternoon on Wednesday 1st May in Cross Ash, connecting with local residents over a cup of tea and cake; hearing stories and sharing old photographs and engaging with community members, both young and old to gather ideas on shaping the future of the village hall.

Pupils from Cross Ash Primary School Choir kicked off the proceedings, with a stirring rendition of songs in both Welsh and English which really set the tone for the whole afternoon.  Pupils then stayed to share their ideas and chatted to older residents from the village, making some wonderful cross-generational links.

Local organisations from across Monmouthshire attended including representatives from GAVO, Skenfrith Community Council, Bridges Centre, Age Cymru, Mind, Aneurin Bevan Volunteer Organisers, Citizens Advice and MHA iConnect.

Kirsty Close, Chair of Cross Ash Hall Committee said: “We had a fabulous afternoon. Lots of stories were shared about the history of the hall and Cross Ash and residents came with up some great ideas about it’s future.  We had super support from the Community Development Team at Monmouthshire County Council, who helped us pull the event together and we’d like to thank all the local support organisations who came along and shared so much helpful information with residents. However, the highlight was definitely the Cross Ash Primary School Choir who sang beautifully. Thank you to everyone for coming along.”

Cross Ash Village Hall holds a monthly quiz held on the first Friday of the month, has a friendly and welcoming Baby and Toddler group every Wednesday morning and has recently hosted a number of well received fundraising events including performances from the Monmouth Male Voice Choir and “An evening with Kiko Matthews”

Cross Ash Village Hall can be contacted at [email protected] or follow the hall on FaceBook @Cross Ash Village Hall

Cllr Angela Sandals, Cabinet Member for Equalities and Engagement & Cllr Ian Chandler, Cabinet Member for Social care, Safeguarding and Accessible health Services attended the event and talked to the Cross Ash Village Hall committee.