We can stay warm in our hall thanks to £50,000 grant (From Worcester News)

We can stay warm in our hall thanks to £50,000 grant

5:10pm Wednesday 8th February 2012 in News By Robert Hale

PEOPLE who use a community hall in a village near Worcester will be able to stay warm, thanks to a £50,000 grant.

Lower Broadheath Memorial Hall has been given £50,000 by Biffaward, a multi-million pound fund that awards grants to community and environmental projects.

The hall committee was also given £14,000 by Severn Waste and £5,000 by Garfield Weston. The 100-year-old hall has no insulation in its roof, so the money will to be used to install it as part of a full reconstruction of the roof. Heating costs had become crippling, forcing the committee to increase its hire rates back in 2009.

Hall committee chairman Dag Smith said: “A new insulated roof on our hall will not only benefit all the village user groups, clubs and organisations in terms of keeping warm in the winter months and the colder evenings, it will also ensure much greater efficiency and effectiveness in the generation of heat and the minimisation of our carbon footprint. In other words, it’s a win-win result all round.”

Among the groups that use the hall are a wide variety of fitness, exercise and dance classes, two women’s institute groups, a youth club, gardening club, Sunshine Club, crafts groups and much more.

It also serves as a venue for Flicks in the Sticks and Shindig arts events, and a meeting place for the parish council, parochial church council and parent-teacher association.

Gillian French of Biffaward said: “Projects like this are incredibly important for local communities, which is why we look to invest in them. It is vital that communities have places to meet.

“And the repair work at Lower Broadheath Memorial Hall will benefit everyone that uses the facility.”

Biffaward is funded by waste management business Biffa Group.