A refurbished and energy-saving function room will soon grace The Mechanics’ Hall, Denholme which has just won a £50,000 improvement grant.

Delighted Peter Foster, chairman of Denholme Community Association, led the bid for cash from WREN – the body which distributes money to good causes from the Landfill Communities Fund.

And retired business expert Mr Foster told how it has taken two attempts to secure the grant to be spent on modernising the existing room and importantly making it more energy-efficient.

“We will lower the ceiling which will be insulated to keep in heat, double-glaze all the windows and replace the old radiators with much more efficient heating which will give significant energy savings,” said Mr Foster, who has lived in the village for 13 years.

Other improvements include creating a disabled toilet and fitting out a new catering kitchen with service hatch to the function room.

He said the idea was to create a modern room which could be used by all local groups, including young people, as a venue for classes, entertainments and social events.

Denholme has the highest concentration of elderly people anywhere in the Bradford district and members of the village’s Elders’ Network were at the Mechanics’ for their regular Monday morning session.

“Sometimes it can be like a fridge in here until the heating gets going, so this is great news,” said Network treasurer, Jean Martin.