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The Big Lottery Fund is helping village life in England to weather the economic downturn announcing close to £19 million to revive village halls and centres at the heart of communities across England.

Fifty-five villages up and down the country will be strengthened as their village halls begin much-needed makeovers or build new ones from scratch.

Sanjay Dighe, Big Lottery Fund England Chair, said: “Voluntary and community organisations in particular are facing challenging times because of the economic downturn so securing these grants is a real ray of light for local communities. These grants will strengthen local services and help to ensure the long-term sustainability of the facilities and of the communities that use them.”

Among the groups receiving grants is a remote Teesdale farming community located in one of the most sparsely populated areas of England. The ‘Strengthening Community Life in Lunedale’ project will breathe new life into the isolated parish’s Carlbeck Centre. The £152,094 grant will help transform the former schoolhouse building, located 11 miles outside of Barnard Castle, into an attractive and functional hub meeting the needs of local people.

Mary Wilson, chair of the Lunedale Community Association trustees, said: “It was a dream come true when we heard we had been awarded this grant from the Big Lottery Fund. It enables us to look forward to the day we have dreamed of for many years — to have a newly renovated building, while still retaining its unique Dales appearance, for the benefit of the whole community. It will be a place where we can meet and hold both social and informative events. We'll at last have what everybody else takes for granted.”

Meeting the needs of an urban population, the Pathways for People Centre is using its £475,000 grant to build a new community centre in Small Heath, Birmingham, that will include a 400-seat auditorium, restaurant and lounge. The centre will meet the needs of the area’s multi-ethnic population with a variety of cross-cultural and inter-generational activities, outreach services, adult education classes and youth drop-in facilities.

Rev Dave Lakin of King’s Christian Centre, Chairman of Pathways for People, said:” We are delighted with the success of our grant application. The money, together with resources being provided by King’s Christian Centre, will enable the completion of this exciting project which will be of benefit to the community over the years to come.”

Plans for a new village hall to serve Helsington and Brigsteer are also looking up with the Helsington and Brigsteer Village Hall Management Committee receiving £274,963. Despite local fondness for the current hall - a rusting Second World War Nissen hut which was in service at Barrow Dockyard - it will now make way for a new building comprising a main hall, kitchen and smaller meeting room.

Richard Griffiths, Chairman of the Village Hall Management Committee, said: “The successful Big Lottery Fund bid is excellent news for Brigsteer. Over the years the village has lost its school, petrol station, shop and post office. Apart from the hall, only the Wheatsheaf Inn and the church remain as places to meet. The current users of the village hall struggle on despite the cold, damp and musty conditions but a new, user friendly hall will provide an opportunity for residents of all ages to participate and support each other in the many and varied activities that take place in the hall.”

To view all projects receiving funding today please click here 
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Further Information

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours contact: 07867 500 572
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030
Textphone: 0845 6021 659

Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Notes to Editors

• Community Buildings is dedicated to investing in buildings that give communities a chance to improve their quality of life and meet local needs, by offering a range of activities and services open to a broad range of people.
• Up to £50 million is being distributed across England over three years with grants of £50,000 to £500,000 available.
• The programme opened for applications in June 2006. 200 applicants were invited to submit stage 2 applications and development funding was awarded to some projects.
• The programme is now closed for applications
• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out half the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £22 billion has now been raised and more than 300,500 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.