The new meeting room at the extended Much Marcle Village Hall will be named after former committee chairman Bob Dallow, who died recently following a battle with cancer.

The hall will be officially opened on Friday, October 21, at 2.30pm by Mr Dallow's widow, Janet.

On October 27, Mrs Dallow and committee members will attend the Volunteer of the Year Awards in Hereford, to hear if Mr Dallow has been honoured posthumously.

Mr Dallow was nominated by hall committee treasurer and friend, Peter Montague-Fuller, for his tireless fundraising efforts.

Up to 50 guests are expected at the launch. Afterwards, the hall will be open until 7pm and there will be a display showing the various stages of the building work.

The new committee chairman, Denis Brooks, a close friend of Mr Dallow for a number of years, said: "We were all hoping that Bob would survive to see the fruition of his work."

The original plan was for work to be completed by last Christmas but there were delays in gaining planning permission and tendering.

Building work finally started in February

The cost of work was over £242,000 and improvements include the new Bob Dallow meeting room, toilets, entrance, kitchen, stage, storage area, disabled access and modern insulation.

The money has come from a £100,000 Lottery grant, £40,000 from fundraising efforts by local people and grants from other organisations.