A community centre under threat of closure will soon start major repairs helped by a £10,000 grant from the parent company of the Telegraph & Argus.

A badly leaking roof and rotten doors and windows meant Oxenhope Community Centre desperately needed funds for a full renovation.

And this time last year, Telegraph & Argus Editor Perry Austin-Clarke handed over a cheque for £10,000 on behalf of the Gannett Foundation, which is run by the newspaper’s parent company.

Now a year-long fundraising campaign has raised a total of £67,000 needed to pay for a new roof, doors and other works, said Oxenhope Community Association chairman Tony Moore.

“It’s a really well used resource and it’s so important to keep it open. That £10,000 was really needed,” said Mr Moore.

“Oxenhope has about 2,000 residents and all sorts of groups use the centre.

“We have pre-school groups, yoga, dance and fitness, a youth club and the Oxenhope Singers rehearse here. It’s a really good mix.

“The centre was built in the 1980s and has a main hall and meeting room, but the roof has leaked very badly and caused extensive water damage to the ceiling in different places. At some points we’ve had to actually pull the ceiling down,” Mr Moore said.

“We are going to start work in the spring and get a brand new roof plus thermal doors and windows to make the building much better insulated, which will save money.

“The wooden floor needs re-sanding and we are going to upgrade the disabled toilet.”

Mr Moore said the aim was to get all the jobs done by autumn next year.

“Then we can start thinking about Phase Two, which could include solar panels for the roof and maybe an extension to create more storage space.

“We have so much going on at the centre it’s hard to find anywhere to keep all the stuff,” Mr Moore said.