A pensioners' club is looking for a new home now bulldozers draw closer to a Women's Institute hall.
Activity groups in South Woodham Ferrers are furious they will not be able to use the hall for club meetings once its replacement is built.
Ruth Newton, of the 60 Plus Club, said: "It is wrong to do this because a lot of people hire that hall and we have been using it for 35 years."
The WI plans to give some of its land to a developer who will use it to build and sell two new homes. In return, the organisation will get a new, smaller hall built for free on the same site, in Hullbridge Road.
The plans are waiting for approval by Chelmsford Borough Council's planning committee on July 1.
Mary Boling, honorary president of the South Woodham WI, said the 1920s hall was an out-of-date burden.
She said: "We had to address the problem of spending large amounts of money on an ageing hall which was already becoming a financial drain.
"It was decided that this was not a viable proposition, and we are now preparing to demolish the old hall and replace it with a new smaller one."
Published Wednesday, June 4, 2003
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