£750,000 town hall revamp to go ahead

3:54pm Wednesday 8th October 2008

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A MAJOR £750,000 re- development of Stock-bridge Town Hall will finally get under way in January thanks to a generous £100,000 grant from a national waste management company.

After years of hard work with fundraising, applying for grants and submitting planning applications the town hall committee is thrilled phase one can begin.

The grant from Veolia Environmental Services, which came from a Land Tax Credit Scheme, took the total sum raised to £300,000.

The committee now needs just £60,000 to complete phase one and donation appeals have already been sent to every house in Stockbridge as well as surrounding villages. Work will go ahead from 1 January even if there is still an outstanding amount to raise.

Phase one includes the major rebuilding work such as new toilets, a lift and creating a small shop at the front to bring in a regular guaranteed income which could be used for running costs.

Phase two will cover heating, wiring and all the smaller necessities included in the refurbishment.

Chairman of the committee Dr Hugh Saxton is delighted work finally can begin.

He is very grateful to Veolia for the latest grant which was confirmed in the summer.

"This grant has helped us enormously as without it we wouldn't have been able to give a start date for many more months," he said. "The town hall is designed to be regularly used and enjoyed, not something to be forgotten and left to waste away."

Hampshire County Council chairman Cllr Michael Woodhall is thrilled the refurbishment can finally get started thanks to the grant.

"I'm absolutely delighted the main board of the trustees in London saw this as a worthy project which will benefit the village of Stockbridge," he said "The building is extensively used and has, for some years, been in need of complete refurbishment and the provision of improved access facilities.

"After a number of years of concerted effort at long last Stockbridge will see its town hall restored to its former glory."