PICTURES: Work begins to refurbish Hurst Green Memorial Hall

Residents in Hurst Green and the surrounding areas are looking forward to a 21st Century makeover of their beloved village hall.
Repairs begin for memorial hall makeoverRepairs begin for memorial hall makeover
Repairs begin for memorial hall makeover

The first phase of the project to retile the leaking roof is under way. This alone is costing in the region of £80,000 and the project group have been successful in gaining a grant of £30,000 from the Lancashire Environment Fund. The next phase is to install ground source heating, which again will cost in the region of £100,000.

A spokesman said: "The hall is an important part of the village and there is a lot of emotional investment in it because many of the villagers’ mums and dads put a lot of effort in to build it. "But it is fifties technology and we need to bring it up to the 21st century. Once we have got the first two phases finished we can then start looking at phase three, but that is some way down the line."

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Mr Niall Macfarlane, chair of the memorial hall committee, thanked Awards for All, Action with communities in rural England, Lancashire Environmental Fund, Ribble Valley Borough Council, Harold and Alice Bridges Fund and members of the local community who pulled together to fundraise.

The hall is being treated to a refurbThe hall is being treated to a refurb
The hall is being treated to a refurb

He explained: "Seeing the work progress in front of everyone who drives or walks by is publicity in itself: locals can converse with the workers and see for themselves the steady progress: they can see the removal of the old tiles – and see what state of disrepair they were in; they can see the gradual reduction of roofing tile pallets as they are placed ready to be distributed on the roof; they can see the roof channels for rain water being checked and remodelled after fifty years. I am incredibly proud of the opportunity for the project to happen and the involvement of grant makers and the community to enable its realisation. There is no doubt that without the former it would have been a non-starter. And the building would have fallen into disrepair and become a mill stone rather than a centre for the community. The significance of grant makers is not just in their generosity to support such projects, but their ability to build momentum and give confidence to the project.

"I would like to thank again all those involved whether supporters, donors, volunteers, grant makers, (and the dreamers) without which none of this would be happening and what makes

the future look so promising."

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