FACILITIES at Eldroth Parish Hall have been upgraded to try to attract more people to use the premises.

Built only two years ago using a grant from the National Lottery Commission, the hall's bookings were badly affected by the foot and mouth crisis, which hit the area within months of the building being completed.

Restrictions were put in place which meant residents were unable to use the facility for many of the planned activities, and the hall lost a large proportion of revenue before it had chance to get up and running.

Now, thanks to various grants and help from the community, the hall has received £8,000 worth of improvements to help get it back on its feet.

It is hoped that the upgraded facilities will appeal to a wider audience, leading to an increase in bookings.

The improvements to the parish hall included fitting a higher specification floor, updating the toilets and showers, providing more heating, fitting a handrail to enhance disabled access and improving the outside lighting.

Of the £8,000 that had to be raised, £1,000 worth of funding was donated by Craven District Council through its Community Chest grant scheme, towards the cost of laying the new flooring.

Meanwhile, the Clapham-based Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, as part of the Rural Economic Recovery Programme, agreed to provide half of the funding, with the community having to match fund a further £3,000 using local labour.

Eldroth Parish Hall spokesman Maureen Nicholas told the Herald: "Eldroth Parish Hall is a fantastic resource in a rural community.

"It is now hoped that with these enhancements, many more people in the local area will be able to benefit from all that it has to offer."

She added: "A lot of people, not only from Eldroth but also from surrounding areas, worked very hard to reach this goal and a tremendous amount has been achieved.

"The community is very grateful to Craven District Council and the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust for their help and assistance."