18 September 2008
New funding for Punnett's Town Village Hall
Plans for a brand new village hall in Punnett's Town have received a further boost through a £15,000 Community Grant from Wealden District Council.
This follows on from the £410,200 Big Lottery Grant the village hall received in August.
Work to replace the existing village hall, which was previously an old fire station, is expected to begin next February.
Residents of Punnett's Town and Three Cups Corner have already raised £40,000 and the project has been further boosted through a £10,000 grant form the Garfield Weston Foundation.
But there is still another £80,000 to be raised to meet the full cost of new village hall whose innovative design will take the form of a traditional Sussex barn.
"We have seven groups a week using the existing village hall which was built before the war," said Maggie Lambert-Gorwyn, the hall's organising secretary. "But we have many more enquiries about using the facilities which at the moment we can't meet.
The hall also doubles up as a sports changing room and its lack of suitable facilities is holding back the local football team's promotion hopes. The new village hall will have a proper kitchen and meeting rooms."
"The new village hall at Punnett's Town will play an important part in promoting health and well being in one of Wealden's communities. It will also increase the number of activities for young people in this rural area and Wealden is pleased to be able to support it financially through the Community Grant," said Councillor Ron Cussons, Cabinet member for Community. "It is great to see local Wealden groups getting such valuable help from the Big Lottery Fund and for the Council to be instrumental in the process"
In February the Diplocks Community Centre project in Hailsham received £391,738 from the Big Lottery Fund. Together with Punnett's Town village hall and contributions made through the Awards for All and Breathing Space schemes, community groups in Wealden will have benefited from £950,000 of Big Lottery funding so far this year.
Wealden's Community Grants Officer is available to help local organisation to identify possible sources of funding for their community projects. She can be contacted on 01323 443520.
