THE community of Brompton Regis will soon be celebrating the completion of extensive improvements to their village hall.

After more than four years of fundraising and nine months of construction, alteration and refurbishment, the project is now entering its final stages.

But with snow and temperatures dropping to minus 11 centigrade on some nights last December, the work has taken longer than expected.

The project is, however, bang on budget, a testament to the unwavering support of the whole community.

Fundraising has continued throughout the building work, with money found to buy new curtains, as well as kitchen equipment, including an LPG cooker with extraction system.

The new kitchen, pictured, now conforms to food hygiene standards, while a new toilet block includes a designated toilet for the disabled.

Much-needed storage space has also been created for the various groups that regularly use the hall - part of the building has even been lengthened to accommodate a mat for the short mat bowls players!

The final phase of the work will involve the alteration of the old kitchen to form a new small committee room, which should prove easier and more economical to heat for smaller groups.

The exterior walls will then be rendered and painted, the access finished off and the surrounding area "tidied up".

The aim is to complete everything before the end of June, although thanks to co-operation of Westbrook Builders, of Upton, the hall has hardly been out of use throughout the entire process.

While the community raised more than £45,000, including £8,000 from the parish council to carry out the upgrade, a further £1,000 came from Exmoor National Park Authority and a staggering £99,950 from the Local Action for Rural Communities (LARC) scheme made the entire project possible.

A spokesman for the village hall committee said members were "eternally grateful" for the grant aid and thanked everyone involved with LARC for their help and assistance.

LARC grants aim to make rural communities more sustainable by redressing the loss of village services, reducing carbon emissions and creating employment opportunities.

The hall improvements will make the building more energy efficient, while the better facilities will ensure it remains at the heart of the local community for many years to come.

The hall spokesman added: "Raising money for the project has involved people from other small communities in West Somerset - jumble sales, concerts, coffee morning, a luncheon club, annual gymkhana and fun days all helped to reduce rural isolation by drawing people together.

"The next item on the agenda will be a big party to celebrate the completion of the work. Bravo Brompton Regis!"