HURWORTH village hall is well on the way to being restored to its former glory, thanks to a lottery grant and various local donations.

Plans to restore the fascia of the former 1800s' temperance hall to its original splendour were agreed by the village hall committee last year.

But with projected costs excluding VAT mounting to over £3,500, committee members knew they faced an uphill struggle. Now fortune has smiled on the project.

Although an application for a millennium festival Awards for All grant to cover all the costs fell short, the hall has managed to secure £1,418 towards renovation costs.

A further £758 will be raised by the hall's trustees and management committee to provide a new noticeboard, date tablet, masonry repairs and a millennium tablet to be inset into brickwork.

And on Wednesday members of Hurworth Parish Council agreed to cough up £500 to help out.

Mr Philip Malkin, who has been secretary of the village hall committee for the past six months, is overwhelmed by the project's success so far.

He told the D&S Times: "We still have a long way to go but the balance could come from management committee reserves if it is agreed at next week's meeting.

"If so, we will need to get our heads together to organise events which will make up the money."

Going on previous years' fundraising efforts, that should not be such a tall order.

Four events organised between June 1999 and June 2000 brought in close to £1,000 and the village hall's popularity is growing all the time, while a lotteries commission grant for almost £4,500 helped repair the roof last year.

Mr Malkin added: "It is absolutely fabulous news that the parish council has decided to help us and we thank them very much.

"I hurried off an application to them after hearing they had been unable to spend their millennium fund. I am so glad I did."

The village hall management committee meets in the hall on Thursday at 7pm.

l Full parish council report: page 8.