Balscote, Oxfordshire opens village hall

Before the completion of the village hall residents made do with a marquee

After 15 years of fundraising Balscote, Oxfordshire, has its own village hall.

The Balscote Village Hall Trust initially hoped to have the building ready in time for the new millennium.

Project manager Terry Allen said: "We've raised a total of about £220,000. The village saved £75,000 of that total - that's just about £1,000 per house."

Work began on the new building in October. The residents previously used a marquee for village gatherings.

Mr Allen added: "We couldn't afford a hall so we had a marquee.

"It was the only way we could get the community together on a regular basis."

The village hall is a timber building, which was made in Estonia and delivered on three articulated trucks.

Mr Allen said the first event at the new hall would be "a bit of a knees-up just for the village".

The summer village fete follows on Saturday 11 June.