AN EVENTS company has been tasked with hosting six events at Rayleigh’s Mill Hall as part of a trial to breathe new life into the events centre.

Rochford Council is handing £1,850 to Colchester Events to run the events – ranging from a bingo party to a hoedown dance – with the aim of understanding what does and what does not work for the venue.

Mill Hall was taken back into council management in 2022 after it closed at the start of the Covid pandemic, and a refurbishment including two new bars was completed at the end of last year.

Colchester Events have a track record of putting on events across Essex and working with councils to bring fun community events to venues.

The events, which will cost the council £1,850, will start on October 18 with a “Dirty Dancing Disco Party”, followed by a cheesy bingo party, Christmas party, 80s and 90s night and a Taylor Swift and Harry Styles night before concluding with a “hoedown showdown”.

Rochford Council has also agreed to pay Colchester Events £950 a month over a six month period to market the venue.

Independent councillor, Michael Hoy, praised the move as a measure to revive the venue.

He said: “The Mill Hall has been closed for years, from lockdown and before that it was run but not actively marketed and at the moment we are also not actively marketing it as it could be.”

“We feel we need to know what events people would go to. It is not a big venue like the Towngate or the Cliffs Pavilion but it is the biggest in the district and we want it to work, and if we are spending this money, we really do want it to work.

“To have it actively marketed for six months will show the potential to those who may want to run it, to show it is sustainable.”

All profits from the six events will go to the promoter except for a 20 per cent cut of the bar bill which will go to Rochford Council.

The proposals were voted through at a meeting on Thursday night despite questions from Tory Rochford councillor Phil Shaw, who questioned why so much was being spent on a “consultation” when “we are getting nothing out of it.”

However the council defended the proposals as a vital measure to promote the venue and work out what type of events will prove popular with residents.