A GENEROUS donation from environmental body Yorwaste has provided the majority of capital needed to give a North Craven community hall a much-needed revamp.

When the boiler broke in autumn last year, the Richard Tottie Memorial Hall committee at Coniston Cold decided to seek outside assistance to pay for necessary repairs and to bring the hall's facilities into the 21st century.

The cost of the work has been estimated at around £20,000 and 10 per cent of this is being raised by the community. This includes a £1,000 grant from the parish council.

The committee applied for an aggregates grant on the strength of quarry lorries using the A65 through the village, but was turned down and an application to the Craven Trust is still being processed.

However, a £19,231 grant from Yorventure, backed by waste management company Yorwaste which manages the landfill site at Skibeden, means most of the funding has been achieved.

Some of the work has now been completed, such as a damp proof course, while the remaining work is due to be finished by the end of May.

This includes providing access and toilet facilities for disabled visitors, replacing the heating system and lighting, replacing fire resistant curtains in the main hall and replastering and decorating throughout.

Richard Tottie Memorial Hall committee member Roger Northrop said the community was thrilled with the grant from Yorventure.

"The hall is around 150 years old and is very well used by a number of groups including Young Farmers, the art group, the church and others in the local community.

"Carrying out the work will hopefully attract other users," he said.

"At the moment it is cold, damp and draughty, but we're confident that these improvements will make it a much more comfortable and attractive meeting place for other groups in the area."

The hall also provides a base for Brownies and Rainbows and supports an annual village cricket match, jumble sales, whist drives and dances.

Mr Northrop added: "We had hoped to include double glazing in the refit, but this would have cost a further £10,000 and it would have been difficult to get additional funding. However, we hope to do that at a later date and it won't affect the work we are doing now."

The committee plans to have a grand opening once all the work is completed.

The money from Yorventure was made possible thanks to the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme, which allows landfill operators to invest some of the tax they collect on behalf of the Government in environmental projects near to their sites.

Yorwaste Ltd, which operates seven waste management and recycling facilities in York and North Yorkshire, has made £6.2 million available to projects in those areas since 1997.

Yorwaste's Skibeden site has now begun processing refuse collected by Bradford Council, making £100,000 available to projects in the Aire and Wharfe Valleys that fall within a 10 mile radius of the site.