SALFORD Priors Memorial Hall should be open and ready for business by June.

The £300,000 refurbishment project of the 51-year-old hall in School Road, which has been mostly funded by the National Lottery's Community Fund, is expected to be completed by the end of the month.

The hall will feature a new roof, an extension, and a complete refit of facilities and a new ramp for disabled access.

Hall committee secretary Don Bailey said: "The builders lost time during the awful weather we've had this year.

"The roof was sheeted up and they couldn't move the tarpaulin for fear of getting the original floor wet."

He also said that the builders were due to finish by the end of the month and there would be a re-dedication service on Thursday, May 30. This will be taken by the priest in charge, the Rev Steve Tash, with Wednesday, June 5, set for the opening day.

The rooms have also been given names. The lounge will become a cyber caf, under the title of the Misys Suite after the local computer firm Misys, which donated £10,000 for computers.

Another room will be called the Bomford Room, after one of the hall's original custodian trustees, Pat Bomford, while the Burton Room is named in remembrance of the Rev Harold Burton, a former vicar of St Matthew's Church.

Mr Bailey, who is also the secretary of a short mat bowls club, said that groups which used the hall before its refurbishment, were looking forward to using it again.

"We will certainly be glad to get back in there," he added.