A RURAL hub which brings the community together and reduces loneliness has been given nearly £160,000 of lottery money.

The Hub at St Peter’s Centre in Peterchurch has been given £159,095 in the latest round of funding awarded by the National Lottery.

Overall the National Lottery gave £350,000 to community projects in Herefordshire including £10,000 to Community Action Ledbury to provide a ‘ring and ride’ service and Saxon Hall in Hereford will use its £9,134.18 grant to set up a community café.

Sara Coleridge, community support and communications officer at The Hub, said the money will support the project for another three years.

She said: “It is absolutely fantastic. It means the project can go on doing what it does - making a real difference.”

The money will pay the two members of staff (Sara and cafe manager Sue Gibbs) and also enable the hub to get another employee to carry out outreach work.

The hub first opened in January 2017 and includes a cafe, a library, weekly activities and events.

Sara said: “The cafe has been a far greater success than we ever envisaged. We didn’t know if it was going to be two people or 20 people through the door. The response has been fantastic.

“We are reaching people who don’t have a place where they can come and connect with people. It reduces levels of rural isolation and loneliness.”

There are 40 volunteers - many of whom have become friends through the project.

Since the project began they have not been able to put as much energy into the outreach work as they would have liked. A network of volunteers help people with everyday tasks.

Sara said: “What we are hoping to do now is bring that support element together to the level we wanted to.”

The following were awarded lottery money: Wigmore Shop - £1,350; Much Marcle Memorial Hall - £2,430; Royal National College for the Blind - £2,579; Wigmore Village Hall - £6,000; Atlas Foundation - £8,160; MFN Youth Clubs - £9,998, Bredwardine & Brobury PCC - £9.000, Dormington PCC - £9,200, Holmer PCC - £9,216; miEnterprise - £9,907; 10th Hereford Scout Group - £9,950. While £10,000 was awarded to each of the following: Much Birch School, Kingsland School, Aymestrey Village Hall, Callow Parish Hall, Burley Gate Village Hall, PCC Monnington-on-Wye, Credenhill Community Hall, Fownhope Parish Council, Kempson Players and Craswall Village Hall.