New toilet facilities opened at village hall

The block was officially opened last week by Maureen Dutton, who is a wheelchair user and long-standing member of the community.

It was a proud moment for the village-hall committee, which has worked tirelessly to transform the toilet facilities.

Village-hall secretary Jean Humphrys said: “We have been trying for many years to raise funds to refurbish the hall; the highest priority was to make the toilets accessible for wheelchair users and to give warm and hygienic facilities for the community.

“It has taken many years to raise sufficient funds to refurbish the toilets; we received around £20,000 of grant funding and raised about £10,000 ourselves.

“We are so pleased that we have managed to complete this first priority and have this grand opening.”

As part of the celebrations, community member and village-hall supporter Thelma Anderson gave the opening address, while village-hall chairman Roger Styring also attended.

The opening of the new toilet facilities coincided with a session to update residents on the development of the parish’s neighbourhood plan.

More than 70 people attended the event and Jean Humphrys, who is also a member of Lesbury Parish Council, said that residents agreed to move the plan forward.

The next step is to complete a housing-needs assessment, analyse the results and start looking at policies.

Those who attended the session enjoyed live music from QSax. There was also a quiz about the locality.

Coun Humphrys said: “The parish council, village-hall committee and neighbourhood development planning team were delighted that so many people enjoyed the evening.”