THE Colwall Millennium Project is being launched next Saturday to raise the final £25,000 to extend the library.

An extension to Colwall Library was voted by villagers as the best way to celebrate the Millennium year with a lasting tribute.

The village library is the most used library in the county, so residents felt it would be a worthwhile project.

The suggestion was originally made by the Probus Club, after Rector Carl Attwood canvassed village organisations for their opinions.

One of the Millennium group members, Susan Bond, said the capital cost of the project was £50,000.

"We've been promised 50 per cent of that cost by Herefordshire Council and the Rowlands Trust and village events have raised £5,000 so far," she said.

The appeal to raise the remaining money will be launched at Walwyn Meadows, next to the library, at noon on Saturday, November 11, with the start of a balloon race.

The organisers have been negotiating with the Charity Commission over charitable status and are confident that the process is nearly complete.

Architects' plans for the extension, which will be used for community events such as meetings and exhibitions, have already been drawn up.

The Colwall community has been more successful than most in marking the Millennium, with a mass photograph of villagers outside the church, a Millennium souvenir guide by the Colwall Village Society and a Millennium Eve party at the village hall.