CIVIC leaders in Williton have rejected moves to incorporate desperately needed new changing rooms on the village's Memorial Ground in a wider ranging and ambitious community hall scheme. At least 40 local people turned up at the parish council's monthly meeting on Monday to hear whether the authority - whose members are all trustees of the ground, which is registered as a charity - would agree to the idea of the joint facility. But although there was some confusion over what the councillors had voted on, it was clear that the hunt for a suitable site for a village hall would continue for campaigners who have been fundraising for almost ten years. The council's finance working group had recommended that a previous scheme for stand- alone changing rooms - for which planning permission was granted but has since lapsed - should be re-submitted. But councillors agreed to a suggestion from Cllr Robin Venner that the matter needed to be considered in more detail before the authority went down the route of re-applying for planning approval and that it should be reconsidered by the finance working group. "We need to find out the cost of re-submitting the plans and what the scheme itself is going to cost," he said. Earlier local resident Roger Peeks had told the meeting that the changing rooms development had previously been costed at around £200,000. "Last time planning permission was got but nothing happened. Why pay out money for something you are not sure about?" Mr Peeks, a supporter of the village hall campaign, warned councillors they were unlikely to receive grant aid for a scheme that would provide only a replacement building. He said £50,000 had been raised so far towards the project and the council itself had pledged and set aside a further £10,000. "You are in a strong position to attract grants and we have been told that in a village this size, a hall is likely to be self-financing." Mr Peeks said changing rooms within a village hall would increase the opportunity for recreational activities. "At the moment the Memorial Ground is only used by dog walkers and footballers." Mr Peeks said there was concern about vandalism, alcohol and solvent abuse in the Memorial Ground but having a village hall would mean there were more people in the area to 'police' it. "It is the anti-social behaviour that desecrates the ground, not the idea of having a village hall there. "Go for gold - go for outline planning for a village hall." His daughters Katherine and Megan made a joint plea for a combined village hall and changing rooms facility by saying it could host activities ranging from dance classes and discos to sports events and church services. "If there were only new changing rooms, we might never use them." Supporters of the village hall scheme pointed out that questionnaires filled in by villagers at a 'planning for real' day in June and at the annual fete earlier this month had shown overall that more than 77 per cent of people backed the idea of a village hall on the Memorial Ground, with just over 20 per cent against and under two per cent undecided. They said the steering group behind the village hall campaign considered these were very positive results and should be taken into account by the council. The community facility, which is estimated to take up less than three per cent of the Memorial Ground, would be a flagship of the council working in partnership with the community. Tracey Copp, a member of the village hall steering group, told the meeting that as long ago as 1996 a survey of all 1,112 houses in Williton had shown that 82 per cent of people who responded to a questionnaire had said they would use a village hall. She said that over the years her group had looked at a total of 16 potential sites and all except the Memorial Ground had been rejected, either because of the high cost or landowners' unwillingness to sell. "There is not much community spirit in Williton at the moment - I have lived here all my life and I have never known it so bad,"said Mrs Copp. "But a community that plays together, stays together." But villager Patricia Holden disputed the number of people in support of building a hall on the Memorial Ground and claimed less than six per cent were actually in favour. She maintained that a hall would be 14 times bigger than an existing storage shed and seven times bigger than the current changing rooms. "It would be a carbuncle on the face of an old friend." Mrs Holden's husband John said he was not opposed in principle to a village hall, although he had reservations about its viability, but the Memorial Ground should not be thought of as a free building site. "As Williton grows, open space will become more important. By all means have your village hall, but not there." And World War Two veterans, to whom the ground was intended as a memorial, made clear their opposition to development. Bert Pearson, chairman of the Williton Royal British Legion, said: "This magnificent open ground is one of the treasures of Williton. "The ex-servicemen who came back after the war decided not to build a village hall but to have a sports ground as the village memorial to those who gave their lives. "We the ex-service community consider that to build a village hall on the Memorial Ground would be an act of desecration to the war memorial." Frank Morgan said the Memorial Ground did need "an uplift" to encourage younger people. "A village hall would be a great asset but I as a parishioner of many years say don't let us rob Peter to pay Paul. "There must be an answer without even thinking of that precious green space we have been entrusted with for over 80 years." A proposal put forward by Cllr Paddy Gower that a joint venture for a combined changing rooms and village hall should be considered was rejected by seven councillors, with chairman Cllr Eddie May abstaining - although it was unclear whether it had been seconded. But the vote followed an amendment from Cllr Tad Mandziej, which won majority support, that the council should not become involved in any partnership developments and should only build wholly council-owned schemes on council-owned land. Cllr Gower had previously said that as a former soldier, with a son who was a serving soldier, he felt a hall would be a fitting tribute to ex- servicemen. But Cllr Mandziej said it would be a dangerous thing to take on partners. "We cannot afford to wear two hats," he said. Cllr Peter Cleere claimed it would be a betrayal of trust to build on the ground. "It would dishonour the intentions of those who put it there in the first place and building on it would attract all sorts of problems. "I don't think we should get into partnerships with single issue groups." His views were supported by Cllr Angela Bray - who described the ground as the jewel in Williton's crown - and Cllrs Derek Cridland, Bill Gulliford and Derek Howells. But Cllr Robin Venner said although he felt he had to vote against the village hall scheme at this stage he did so with a heavy heart. "Williton is desperate for a community facility but I feel that with Williton at the crossroads of regeneration, we need to wait until we know what is going to happen in the village." But Cllr Venner said that if an alternative site for a hall could not be found, the issue should be reconsidered.