Cash to revamp community centres

Projects to revamp community centres in East and North Yorkshire are to share more than £500,000 in lottery grants.

The 125-year-old village hall in Bishop Wilton, East Yorkshire, will be replaced with an eco-friendly community centre thanks to a £360,000 grant.

Just short of £265,000 has been given to people in the village of Wigglesworth to enable them to fulfil a dream of replacing their ageing centre.

The money has come from the Big Lottery Fund's community buildings programme.

Steve Swire, from the project group in Bishop Wilton, said the new building would incorporate sports changing facilities and provide support for the village school and church.

Rural community spirit

Because the nearest doctor's surgery is a 10-mile round trip, medical consultancy clinics will also be held in the building to make it easier for people without a car.

He said: "The Big Lottery Fund award has come at just the right moment.

"It's been a long wait but we believe the new hall will be like a heart transplant bringing a new lease of life for our community in the nick of time."

In Wigglesworth, Clark's Old School Foundation charity will use the money to refurbish and extend the current community centre housed in an old school building dating back to 1798.

Michael Dean, trustee and treasurer of the charity, said: "This award will not just ensure the upgrading and future of a core facility for Wigglesworth, but will contribute to maintaining the spirit, involvement and togetherness that is essential for the survival of rural communities in modern society."