A SMALL community near Stokesley is getting a big boost to its leisure facilities.

Hambleton District Council has helped secure recreational land for the village of Faceby.

The sale of the land next to the village hall was finalised last week.

The council gave a grant of £25,000 to Faceby Village Hall Trust, the remaining £5,000 being achieved through local fundraising.

It was the third grant to be won by the trust. Another £6,800 will help develop phase two of an improvement plan for the village hall.

The council provided £3,700 for phase one. That work saw the hall - the village's only community facility - undergo extensive refurbishment to include a new well-equipped kitchen, new toilets and disabled facilities.

A new gas-fired heating system was also installed, along with insulated plasterboard walls to overcome the thermal disadvantages of solid brick walls in the old structure.

Phase two sees a modest extension to provide better storage facilities as well as improvements to lighting and car parking.

"We are keen to support well-organised and committed community organisations like Faceby," said the council's cabinet leisure spokesman, Coun Neville Huxtable.

"The village hall trust has an excellent track record in running its affairs. We have worked with them to take this opportunity to invest in the future of the village."

Trust secretary Liz Sudron said: "We are truly grateful for the support we have received from Hambleton. Along with local contributions and help from private trusts, it enabled us to obtain Millennium Commission backing, both for the original refurbishment programme and these further enhancements to the project."

Both projects will be completed before next spring.