Craster Memorial Hall reopens to the public with a new look thanks to lottery-funded renovations

Advantage had been taken during the time the hall was closed to carry out major transformations inside so people were very impressed when they entered.

Repair work had been done in the kitchen courtesy of a £10,000 grant from the National Lottery Awards for All fund. The hall was freshly decorated throughout.

Around 20 villagers attended the delayed AGM of the community trust. Three people are sadly giving up their CCT responsibilities so Rosemary Gibbs, Michael Gibbs and Doris Clarke were all warmly thanked for their contributions over the years.

Jackie Reeves presented the financial report and made the point that the hall had been without income for five months since the report was compiled at the end of March.

On the face of it the bank balance looks quite healthy however the current restrictions mean that it will be unable to hold our major fundraisers in the foreseeable future and it still has overheads to meet.

A small business award of £10,000 has been obtained from Northumberland County Council which will meet immediate costs including that of the extra cleaning needed in the present pandemic. However it was noted the venue could find itself in financial hardship in the future unless trustees can think of ways to raise money to meet running costs.

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