It is hoped an Angus village hall that was “dying a death” will be returned to its former glory days after vital funding was sourced from Angus Council.
Letham Village Hall, which in years gone-by hosted regular concerts, dances and weddings, had started to decline due to a lack of investment and an increase in the number of alternative venues.
Supported by Angus Environmental Trust, backers have been awarded a £10,000 Scottish Landfill Community grant to enable a newly established committee to carry out essential repairs and aesthetic improvements.
Hall chair Dave Page said it was a “huge boost” which would allow it to compete with other businesses in the area.
He said: “Previously we used to just rely on fundraising efforts through car boot sales and other small-scale events.
“It would take a huge amount of these types of events to raise £10,000 so the help is great.
“As a community facility, it’s difficult to compete with other businesses sometimes but we also now have a website set up so that will hopefully allow us to kick on and attract more functions.
“It has been dying a death in recent times. The repairs will allow us to host more weddings and other functions at very competitive rates.
“It is quite an undertaking but we want to get the hall back to its former glory days when it was used heavily by the community.”
Mr Page added the hall’s rejuvenation would ultimately benefit the village, which is the largest in Angus, in other ways too.
He said: “It will also be a boost to local workers too as we will be hiring more hospitality staff and using catering companies.
“It will have a knock-on effect and revive other aspects of the village.
“There are even very early-stage discussions to bring back the weekly Victorian market that used to be held once a year.
“It’s important to remember that these funds are made specifically available to help facilities like ours.”
To find out more information on the hall’s facilities, visit
http://www.lethamvillagehall.co.uk/
