Rayleigh Horticultural Society voices opposition to the demolition of Rayleigh Mill Hall

The society has run for over 100 years in Rayleigh and hosts the biggest horticultural show in Essex three times a year at the Mill Hall.The potential loss of the Mill Hall due to the proposed demolition by Rochford District Council could be devastating to the RHS. Peter Noble of the RHS, gave us this comment:

Rayleigh Horticultural Society has been running for over 100 years. We moved our shows to Mill Hall soon after it was built and have held 3 shows a year there since that time. I have organised the shows for 13 years and in that time the entries have increased to make it the biggest Horticultural Society show in Essex. The proposed new Mill Hall is a third of the size of the present building (170 person capacity against the current 510 capacity)!! There will be nowhere in the Rayleigh area where our Shows can be accommodated in a similar sized hall, with easily accessible car parking, no steps etc. Rayleigh stands to lose its successful horticultural shows in favour of fancy Council offices and yet more flats - all to be built within a conservation area.

Above: The Mill Hall setup for the RHS shows - the hall is the perfect size for the events that the RHS organise for the membership and community.

You can visit the RHS website here:

https://rayleighhorticulturalsociety.com