On the Abbeystead Estate, the Duke felt it was important to support the local community with a proper facility suitable for events and meetings and so personally financed the building of a new village hall.

Now complete, the new village hall is extremely popular and is in regular use.

The building has been designed to be environmentally sustainable with good insulation and use of local construction materials. It is heated by a combination of a Ground Source Heat Pump system and Photovoltaic (solar) cells.  

Its central location also means it is an ideal site for the estate's recycling facilities.