Our Village Hall which is a former school house has been in a poor state of repair for a number of years. We have been actively fund raising for more than 6 years and have had tremendous support from many villagers in Allerthorpe. However we are a small village of only 240 people and so we knew that the project would require more funds than we could raise locally.
Last year we received £10,000 from the Lottery - Awards for All, which enabled us to do critical repairs such as, replace the roof, re-wire the entire building, and put in a new heating system.
However we recognised that now we needed more funds to be able to bring the building to modern day standards. So, earlier this year we decided to apply for a grant from WREN.
We were delighted when, in August, we heard that we had been awarded a grant of £14,240. Just to explain about WREN (Waste Recycling and Environmental organisation) for those people who don’t know......
WREN is a not for profit business that awards grants to community, environmental and heritage projects across the UK from funds donated by the Waste Recycling Group as part of a voluntary environmental tax credit scheme call the Landfill Communities Fund.
Since 1998 WREN have granted over £140 m to more than 5,500 project which benefit people living within 10 miles of a WRG landfill site. Our site is Gallymoor near Howden.
Now with the grant from WREN we will be able to really bring the building to a useable state, our plans include new windows, updating the kitchen, decorating, repairing the outer fencing and gate.
We expect to be able to run various health and fitness classes, community events, children’s parties and have the hall available to rent out for any meetings.
Without the help and support of companies such as WREN and the Lottery and also all our villagers we would not be able to do the repairs needed for our Village Hall.