Village hall drive wins £100,000

Face painting at a fun-day to raise funds for the hall

A tiny community in Gwynedd is celebrating after hearing they have been awarded a £100,000 grant towards the construction of a village hall.

Villagers at Prenteg near Tremadog - population 100 - have worked for eight years to raise funds for the project.

Events have included everything from fun days to selling tea and cake at the RSPB Wales Glaslyn osprey viewing station, which is nearby.

The £100,000 grant is from the Welsh Assembly Government.

"This grant takes us half way to our target," said Gwyneth Owen, a member of the village hall committee.

Villager Magwen Griffiths added: "We have worked hard over the past eight years to raise money ourselves, and also to source any grants that are available.

This grant really is a massive step forward for our fund-raising and we hope to have the new hall built in the next two years Phyllis Evans

"There is nowhere for the community to meet, no pub, nothing."

Villagers sent out a questionnaire asking whether locals felt a community hall was needed when they first got together.

Phyllis Evans said residents had been forced to travel to take part in events in other areas.

She said: "Since we established the committee eight years ago however to organise fund raising events such as concerts, coffee evenings and fun days, it has bought people together."

"This grant really is a massive step forward for our fund-raising and we hope to have the new hall built in the next two years," Mrs Evans added.

The grant came through the community facilities and activities programme run by the Welsh assembly government.