Grant to fix hall's 'significant disrepair'

A community hall in a historic West Yorkshire village has been awarded a £74,800 grant to fix facilities which had fallen into "significant disrepair".

The Local Regeneration Fund approved the money to refurbish Haworth Village Hall's toilets, which have been described as unsafe.

A Bradford Council spokesperson said the works, in the village synonymous with the Brontës, were "vital to ensure the building meets safety standards and provides accessible amenities to meet the needs of the growing community".

The charity that runs the hall welcomed the funding. Board of trustees chair Ben Ogden said it was "a huge step forward and a real vote of confidence".

"These works are vital in helping us create a safe, welcoming and accessible space that can continue serving the village for generations to come," he added.

The grant comes from a £1.1m total allocation for infrastructure works to be carried out to make the building safe.

The refurbishment of the village hall was one of several schemes due to benefit from the government's £33m Towns Fund Cash, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The hall, a former school building, dates back more than a century, and has most recently been used as a community building.

The council's lead member for economy, regeneration and planning, councillor Andrew Judson, said he was "pleased to have made such progress on this project, so that these vital works can now be undertaken".

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