DOLTON Village Hall has undergone a £60,000 refurbishment.

The committee behind the hall has been working on the project for two years.

CELEBRATING: Committee members in the newly-refurbished village hall at Dolton.

The work has seen the community space get a new roof, ceiling, rewiring and a revamp.

Sue Jury from the committee said more than 30 volunteers from the village came forward to offer their help in the project.

She said: "The hall is very important to the community and it has been more appreciated since it closed for the renovation.

"It looks beautiful and the project has really brought the villagers together – so many people gave up their time."

The 45-year-old hall is used for coffee mornings, bingo, parish council meetings, the pre-school, fitness classes and by many other

Shirley Watts, a breeder of Arabian horses and the wife of the Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, will reopen the village hall on Saturday, August 20.

The committee raised £25,000 for the work itself by holding fundraising events every six weeks. Grants were also secured from Devon Waste Management, Big Lottery, Devon County Council, Community Council of Devon, Torridge District Council, Dolton Parish Council, Leonard Laity Stoate Charity, Norman Family Charity Trust and the Torrington Cavaliers.

We were approached by the Bluecoat Children's Centre in Torrington to see if we could help create an 'outdoor learning environment' within their unused garden area. Funding was in place for most of the materials but they were extremely short of labour. It was a challenging project so naturally, the Cavaliers were happy to take it on!

We followed their plans to create a small track for toddler trikes; an area for water play; a base for the shed; a mound; an area for a interactive wall; and a screened off area for the kitchen. We were helped with the groundworks by Shaun Mitchell Plant Hire.

Our part of the project is now complete. The Centre is now waiting for some planting and turfing, and then it will be ready for use by the children and parents.

Thanks to all the Cavaliers, non-cavaliers and Shaun Mitchell for their help with this project.

Follow the links below to see photos of the project.

Photos
Slideshow