Since the reopening of Holsworthy Memorial Hall last year occasional meetings are held at which regular users of the hall can meet members of the management committee to evaluate the hall and put forward their ideas and comments. Such a meeting took place in the Manor Suite last Wednesday evening with Eric Taylor in the chair.

Graham Norman, the secretary of the Holsworthy Bowling Club put forward suggestions for improving the booking arrangements for the hall. He had had difficulty finding the telephone number and suggested it should be displayed outside the hall. When he did phone the hall he objected to having to listen for a minute and a half to details of forthcoming events before he was able to make a booking. Why not offer a choice, he said, like most firms do these days, such as, "Press 1 for a booking" and "Press 2 for events"? Jane Wright said that in the New Year it would be possible to make face-to-face bookings in the Holsworthy Information Centre.

Anne Jose, the manager of the Day Centre said the doors between the main hall and the Manor Suite needed to be double, both for security and insurance reasons and for soundproofing.

Members of the public were still coming into the hall just to use the toilets, even interrupting meetings, instead of going to the nearby conveniences next to the library. It was suggested that Torridge District Council be asked to place a clear sign in the car park indicating where the public toilets were.

The district council should also be asked to stop articulated lorries being parked in the Manor car park in the evenings. Because of their size they could not park within the marked spaces and were a danger to the public.

The emergency procedure in the event of a fire was also discussed. Arthur Wright suggested that the assembly point for the main hall should be on the grass under the trees and for the Manor Suite in the corner of the car park beyond the attendants hut. It was felt there was a need for some professional advice and that a Health and Safety talk for the committee, users and staff should be arranged.

Crispin King asked why it was not possible to advertise what films would be shown more than about a month ahead. Jane Wright explained they got their films from Filmbank, which issued a list of available films a few weeks after cinema release and prior to being on offer to rent or buy on DVD. The list was always changing so they could not be sure what would be available far in advance.

Eric Taylor said the matters raised would be taken to a full committee meeting for consideration and action.