Belford community moves a step closer to new village hall after 'generous' donation

A number of village community groups have disbanded in that time due to a lack of meeting space.

However, a £10,000 donation from the Sir James Knott Trust has brought it one step closer to finally securing a replacement.

The Belford Village Memorial Hall Trustees are attempting to bring together the necessary funds to purchase the village’s Ferguson Hall.

The hall was part of the United Reformed Church, but the group has now left the village and put its former property up for sale. An offer of £145,000 has been accepted, but the community remains short of the target.

Cllr Guy Renner-Thompson, who represents the village as part of the Bamburgh ward on Northumberland County Council, has also put forward £15,000 from his members’ small schemes allowance, while £12,000 has been raised by the village through fundraising events. This is added to the cash already in the bank from the sale of the previous hall.

Cllr Renner-Thompson said: “There hasn’t been a village hall in Belford since the community hall had to close because it was full of rot. That was in 2018.

“The money from that was put into a pot waiting to go for a new hall. The other village hall closed when the United Reformed Church left the village.

“We have had an offer for the Ferguson Hall accepted and we have been fundraising ever since. We have had a very generous donation from the Sir James Knott Trust, but we’re still short.

“For a village the size of Belford to not have a village hall is just bonkers. We have lost lots of community groups like the Army Cadets, the Scouts and the amateur dramatic society.

“It’s had a huge impact on the village. There’s a lot of things that we used to have that we don’t have anymore and we’re hoping they will all start again.

“We’re not quite over the line, but we’re pretty confident that we will get it.”

The Sir James Knott Trust support charitable activity across the North East.