A village hall in Shrewsbury, that reached its centennial last year, is set for a new lease of life at the heart of the community after it received a Severn Trent Community Fund award.

Before lockdown, Berrington Village Hall hosted a full calendar of community events that included birthday parties, quiz nights and community meetings.  

But as volunteers tried to establish the hall following the COVID pandemic, it was discovered that the cooker in the kitchen no longer worked, meaning the number of bookings dropped off with caterers unable to use the space. 

But after applying to Severn Trent’s Community Fund for a new cooker, volunteers are now looking forward to making the village hall the centre of the community again as they celebrate the success of their application. The new cooker arrived in December. 

Marcia Rathbone, volunteer at Berrington Village Hall, said: “Before COVID, the village hall was a fantastic environment and an important place for people to gather together. It was built in 1923 and we missed the opportunity last year to celebrate its 100-year anniversary as the cooker was broken. We can’t wait for the fun and enjoyment to start again.

“We hadn’t applied for funding for some time but once we found out about our grant from Severn Trent we were so very happy – the kitchen can now be used by the community who use the hall, as well as caterers for events.  

“It was great that the money arrived in less than a week after finding out our application was successful. We got an electrician to take the old one out and put the new one in, and it is fabulous.”

Marcia believes that the £2,785 funding for a new cooker from Severn Trent, will have a ‘significant’ impact on the local community as volunteers plan the hall’s next year’s activities. 

She added: “The village hall is pretty much the last resource left in the community, now our beautiful church has closed. It acts as a single point for the community to get together, and it’s so important that the next generation have this facility to use.”

Severn Trent’s Community Fund was created for community groups and projects that aim to improve community wellbeing. 

Jade Gough, Severn Trent Community Fund Officer, said: “We were delighted to make this award to Berrington Village Hall as we know how important these spaces can be to local communities.  

“We hope the new cooker will enable Berrington Village Hall to once again offer a full calendar of events that will bring everyone in the area together.” 

To find out more about the fund, and what projects have been awarded, please visit stwater.co.uk/communityfund.