A SMALL village in the Golden Valley has celebrated the opening of its first community hall.

The Escleyside Hall at Michaelchurch Escley, a £160,000 brick and stone building, opened its doors yesterday, Wednesday, seven years after villagers first discussed the project.

The hall is next to Michaelchurch Primary School and is already in daily use by the school for assembly and sport.

For the community, which also includes Newton and St Margarets, it will become a social centre for parties and meetings, bringing cultural activities, like adult education, to the area for the first time.

During the open day and AGM locals were invited to put their ideas forward for future events. An after-school club, keep-fit and yoga classes, holiday play schemes, arts, crafts and gardening clubs, have already been suggested to the Michaelchurch Escley and District Community Centre Project (MEADCOM) committee.

"The project was set up in 1995 to build a community hall to serve the needs of people living in Michaelchurch Escley, Newton and St Margarets, an area close to the Black Mountains with a total adult population of about 450.

"None of these three parishes has ever had a village hall," said management committee chairman, Neil Barnes.

The building includes a main hall big enough for a badminton court and 280 people. The wooden floor is sprung and on one side there is a seating area with comfy chairs and tables. There is also a separate bar, kitchen, showers and loos and access for the disabled. A hearing aid loop has also been fitted.

The building has been funded with a £70,000 lottery grant and money from Village Focus, the Countryside Commission, Herefordshire Partnership and other charitable organisations.

Furniture and equipment cost £14,000, and was paid for with cash from the Lottery's Awards for All and Bulmers charities. Kitchen equipment was donated by Special Metals Wiggin Ltd.

Mr Barnes said: "Though a delightful place to be for those who have their own transport, this area has always suffered from the effects of being far from centres of population and from having no meeting place of any size.

"Access to educational and cultural activities has therefore been restricted. Those involved in the MEADCOM project hope this new hall will help to revitalise this corner of Herefordshire."

For further information about the hall, or to book, contact Neil Barnes on 01981 510393 or Heulwen Herdman on 01981 510278.