Seventeen community organisations in Herefordshire are celebrating after being awarded almost £950,000 in National Lottery funding on Tuesday, June 5th.

Key towns to receive funding include Ross-on-Wye - with funding awarded to Hope Mansell Village Hall, Garway Village Hall and Whitchurch CE Primary School.

Hope Mansell Village Hall are receiving £9,072.00 to update and refurbish the hall, to allow more events to take place.

The Committee applied for the grant and were delighted when it was approved. Vice Chairman, Catherine Lewis said: “We’ve been talking about it for years and finally something’s happening!”

Catherine told the Ross Gazette that the kitchen will be completely refurbished, and the wall will be knocked through so that they can have a hatch to serve food and drinks.

She said: “It will make such a difference for serving tea and coffee. The kitchen doesn’t look appealing at all at the moment, so the grant will ensure people use it more.”

Chairman Peter Leathart added: “I bought that fridge in 1981, so I think it needs replacing!”

The inside will be repainted from its current orange tones to more muted colours, in order to put the focus on the outside views of Hope Mansell.

There will also be more disabled access for the new toilet, and there will be fixed lighting to improve visibility at evening events. Internet access will also be a new feature for the hall.

Jan Powell, who has been heading the sub-committee for the renovation, applied for the grant and said that they aim to complete the refurbishment in stages, starting with the electric and focusing on the new kitchen.

She said that they aim to have all the renovation completed by Christmas, so that they can have a festive grand opening.

The Ross Gazette will be following the progress of these plans in the coming months.