Village hall's lotto win

VILLAGERS in Oldbury-on-Severn are celebrating a big lotto win for their community.

The Memorial Hall has been awarded a lottery grant of nearly £100,000, to improve access for people with mobility issues, provide a lobby area, an extra toilet and storage space.

The hall in Camp Road has been one of the main centres of the village since it was first built in 1922 in memory of those killed in the Great War, initially as a hall for returning soldiers to meet up and socialise in the evenings.

Building work that started just before Christmas will provide a new entrance on the side of the hall with a more accessible route, leading to a bar area, improved toilet provision and new storage space at the back of the hall for tables and chairs.

Memorial Hall Committee chair Chris Jennings said: "We are very grateful to the National Lottery for having faith in us to take the hall on to a new stage in its 100 year history, by providing these funds to improve the facilities.

"We have been steadily increasing the use of the hall over the last few years, and these new improvements will encourage even more folk to use the facilities we have.

"As well as thanking the National Lottery, I am also most grateful for the support of the hall committee, local residents and organisations that use the hall, and also to Oldbury Parish Council and South Gloucestershire Council for getting us to this stage."

The work is due to be completed in February.