AFTER years of fundraising, the much needed refurbishment of an ageing village hall can finally begin.

Crudwell Village Hall received the final £5,000 it needed last week (Wednesday, July 6) from the Malmesbury Area Board to begin its ambitious renovation plans.

Discussions about improving the hall began five years ago when the members of the Crudwell Village Hall and Recreation Ground charity addressed the issue.

Since then they have been raising money for capital expenditure through various means, including the 24-hour Crudwell Bike Ride.

The morning after they received the final piece in the fundraising puzzle, developers were given the go-ahead and work will start over the summer.

Annie Smith, treasurer of the Crudwell Village Hall and Recreation Ground charity, said it was a “huge relief” to receive the area board funding.

“We’ve had this in the pipeline for a number of years now,” she said. “The hall has needed to be updated as it out of date.

“We’ve built up funds over the years and after doing the sums last year we found we had £25,000, so though lets crack on and do it.

“We went out to people to get the rest of the funding so it’s great we’ve got the support from the Malmesbury area.”

The first stage of the renovation will see the two disused showers refurbished. The showers were originally put in for sports teams to use, however they have been untouched for a number of years.

A large storage room will also be built from some of the space in the shower room.

This will provide space for the Crudwell Pre-School, which runs out of the hall, to pack their things away.

Cathy Harris, manager of Crudwell Pre-School, says the extra storage will mean they can buy more ‘soft play’ equipment for the children.

She said: “We like to keep them active throughout the day. This extra storage space means we can do more physical activities when it’s raining as we can get more equipment in.

“We’re so excited and really grateful to village community.”

Vice-chairman of the Malmesbury Area Board, Cllr Simon Killane of Wiltshire Council, said he was pleased the funding application for the renovation was passed.

“Wiltshire Council and the area board are very keen on community,” he said.

“All the village halls are mini hubs that are really important to communities.

“Having small hubs in rural areas and investing in them is something I really welcome.”

As work cannot be done in the hall while the pre-school is in term time, work must be done during the summer.

The final part of the renovation, which will see the kitchen area totally transformed, requires some additional funding, so work will start on that over the next year.

Anyone who would like to donate to the fundraising towards the village hall refurbishment should contact treasurer@cvhrg.org.uk