VILLAGE halls in the Darlington borough could close because the council has decided to withdraw funding.

Grants have been given annually to village halls since before Darlington Borough Council became a unitary authority.

The money, from the council's community education fund, has helped the management committees of halls keep the facilities open.

But now the council has decided to withdraw the grants and channel the money into projects for children and young people.

Councillors in rural areas, who have been sent letters explaining the changes, have reacted angrily to the news.

Councillor Peter Foster, of Hurworth, said: "The community hall is the heart of any village. Some places have no post office and no pub, and people rely on the village hall for their social life.

"These halls are used by loads of groups, including Scouts and playgroups, but there are also a lot of older people who come for coffee mornings and the like.

"These new proposals offer nothing for the elderly in rural areas, who rely on village halls for their social life."

Councillor Gerald Lee, of Heighington, is also opposed to the change, and fears village halls might have to close without the extra cash support. He said: "Village halls are run by dedicated, hard-working committees, not by councillors. They already work to raise funds to run the halls and this work will have to increase now the council grant is going.

"I am angry that there has been no consultation over these changes. How do the council know how much the halls are used if they haven't asked us?

"I would worry how village halls could survive without this money. Yet again, it seems the rural areas are missing out."

A spokesman for Darlington Borough Council confirmed that the grants, which average £1,700 a year to each village hall, are being stopped.

He said: "This money was a throw-back from when Durham was the local authority in Darlington. Even though the money came from the community education budget, the committees were not accountable, so they could spend it on whatever they wanted. We are going to spend all the money on youth projects in the borough. The loss of our grants does not necessarily mean the closure of village halls."