THE future of a popular church hall has been guaranteed by a grant from the National Lottery.

Villagers in Sowerby, near Thirsk, are celebrating the announcement of a £100,000 windfall from the Community Fund.

It will enable them to press ahead with improvements to the local parochial church hall, which could be completed as early as next summer.

The success of the bid for funding follows years of preparatory work and the National Lottery cash will be topped up with another £11,000 which has been raised locally.

There are plans to create a toilet block and a more spacious entrance lobby to make the hall more inviting.

The windows will all be replaced and the car park will be levelled and extended. There will also be facilities for the disabled.

The hall was built between the wars, and although limited improvements have been carried out, an extensive restoration was desperately needed.

"If we didn't improve the hall I think there could have been a major case to have it shut," said hall chairman Martin Hooper.

The use of the hall by local groups had been declining, particularly when a playgroup that once used it found its own premises.

However, over the past three years, usage has risen by about 50 per cent and it is now thought to be one of the most well-used halls in the Hambleton district.

"The community has become very involved, doing things like painting murals and making wall-hangings and all sorts of local groups are now making use of the facilities," said Mr Hooper.

"The grant is super news for everyone in and around Sowerby."

"It is a vote of confidence from the Community Fund which will encourage all of us associated with the hall to finish the work we have started, and to make it the first choice of venue for all local organisations."