Close to £150,000 has been set aside for village hall projects in south Somerset over the next two years.
The deal is part of a package involving Somerset County Council and the five district councils covering the county.
There is £76,300 remaining from the 2001/02 financial year and a further £56,000 reserved for the following year.
Another £18,500 has been provisionally pledged for 2003/04. Projects of various sizes and time scales are to benefit, including those in Yeovil Birchfield, West Camel, Compton Dundon and Littleton, South Cadbury and more.
County councillor Tim Carroll said: "In a rural county such as Somerset, village halls and community centres are often at the very heart of the local community.
"In an age where we have seen the numbers of dwellings and population rise in the countryside while witnessing the inexorable decline in rural services, this initiative has proved the exception.
Mr Carroll described the initiative as "arguably the most successful village modernisation and refurbishment programme in the whole of the South West" - much because the initiative has remained responsive to changing circumstances.
Mr Carroll finished off by saying: "All this would mean very little without the enthusiasm and commitment of people out there in villages and towns who are determined to improve their local facilities.
"These are the groups who deserve the real credit."