Richmondshire District Council

Celebrating village halls

A Richmondshire community has been highlighted as part of a national campaign to celebrate village halls.

The District Council has picked out the work of Croft on Tees hall which has received cash from the authority’s Community Investment Fund (CIF) in the last 12 months.

The 2021 Village Halls Week (January 25-29) is being championed by Community First Yorkshire which supports village halls across the county – marking the good work village hall trustees do to keep vital assets in their communities.

“The last year has been particularly difficult for small community halls, many of which have lost all their income as a result of Covid19. Some have been unable to open safely and others have had to constantly changed their practices,” said Council Leader, Councillor Angie Dale.

“Many village halls are the only asset in a village, so its important that we champion the great service that they all provide and help them wherever we can.”

Trustees at Croft on Tees Community Village Hall were able to begin a landscaping project with their grant. The £84,000 scheme received £36,450 from the council to help create a new car park, cycle path and paths for use by hall users and Croft residents.

The CIF scheme has allocated £300,000 to community and social projects since 2019 and has got another £250,000 to spend over the coming year. The fund supports new projects and improvement schemes for facilities for local people.

The five growth areas of Colburn, Richmond, Hipswell, Scotton and Leyburn will benefit from £150,000 of the fund with the remainder available across the rest of the district. Groups can apply for a maximum of £50,000 for their projects.

For more information on the fund check out our community grants scheme page.