Residents urge Múlaþing to protect Egilsstaðir community hall

About 250 people have signed a petition urging Múlaþing municipality to protect Valaskjálf, a community hall in Egilsstaðir, and find ways to keep it operating in its current form, mbl.is reports.

The petition calls on the municipality and Valaskjálf’s owners to begin talks with residents and explore alternatives that would secure the building’s future without converting its main hall into accommodation.

“We, the undersigned, call on Múlaþing municipality to protect Valaskjálf community hall and contribute to its operation in one way or another,” the petition says.

It adds that Valaskjálf has been an important venue for culture, community life and social gatherings in Egilsstaðir since it opened in 1966. Although the building is privately owned, the petition’s organisers say it is important to find a sustainable and financially viable role for it.

They argue that converting the main hall into accommodation would undermine the facilities and cultural value it provides.

“Given the discussions among residents, I felt it was right to do something,” Hafþór Máni Valsson, who is responsible for the petition, told mbl.is. He started it on Tuesday evening and said its main purpose was to put more pressure on the municipality.

Valsson said it was unusual for private parties to own the municipality’s community hall. He said Valaskjálf had considerable emotional importance for residents and described it as “the heart of Egilsstaðir”.

Valsson, a musician who has performed at the hall many times, said it had hosted benefit concerts, concerts by Egilsstaðir Upper Secondary School, bingo events, stand-up comedy and many other gatherings.

“This is the community hall. Most people can fit in there,” he said.

According to Valsson, no other venue in Egilsstaðir can serve the same purpose. Sláturhúsið can accommodate just over 100 people and is intended more as a small theatre than a concert venue.

“We are not going to accept some people on the other side of the country turning this into some kind of capsule hotel,” he said.

The main hall has been used for various cultural activities since Valaskjálf opened as Egilsstaðir’s community hall in 1966. The hotel was sold to private owners at the end of 1998, and the company 701 Hotels bought Valaskjálf two years ago.