A village hall dating back to 1870 is sounding better thanks to council cash.

The village of Alne near Easingwold has recently used council grant funding to fit some new acoustic panels to the village hall.

There is no shop or pub where people can meet in Alne, which means the hall has become the hub for social activity for both the village and the surrounding areas.

Ten years ago the village hall committee produced an extensive and comprehensive refurbishment and improvement plan for the former school which they are still working through, with the introduction of the new acoustic panels, to improve audience experience at events, a key part of the work.

Secretary Rosie Ness said: “Although we can now provide a clean, comfortable and modern environment for the community to use, it was spoilt by poor acoustics which prevented many residents from attending due to reverberation and an echo.

“But now thanks to a grant of £3,870 from Hambleton District Council’s Making a Difference Fund, we have fitted acoustic panels which not only look great but will really improve the experience for everyone using the hall in particularly for the Alne Music Club who stage live music events. We can’t wait until we can get the go ahead to start using our hall again.”

(Local guitarist Pete Hall attended the hall this week to test out the improvement the new panels have made watched by Ward Member Cllr Malcolm Taylor and Rosie Ness)

Alne Cricket Club also received a grant of £3,353 for a ground maintenance and repair project which included the purchase of a machine for conditioning, spiking and continuous replanting of seed to the wicket square

  • Cash for the Making a Difference scheme comes from ongoing cost savings that councillors are reinvesting into the local community. Each scheme must meet one of the council’s key priorities – driving economic vitality, enhancing health and wellbeing, caring for the environment and providing a special place to live. And each must show that there is community involvement and represents value for money.