THE tiny village community of Wootton Courtenay has been given a massive £150,000 Lottery windfall towards the cost of replacing its ageing village hall.

The National Lottery Charities Board officially announced yesterday (Thursday) that the close-knit community could look forward to replacing its existing wooden hall with a modern new building.

In all, the project will cost around £240,000, but villagers have already come up trumps to the tune of £16,000 and thousands of pounds have been pledged in grants from the district and county councils, Wyvern Waste and Exmoor National Park Authority.

The driving force behind the Lottery application, Wootton Courtenay resident Sydney Pinder, said he was hopeful work could start on the new hall in just a few months' time.

In between canvassing support for his election bid for the Aville Vale seat on West Somerset District Council yesterday, Mr Pinder told the Free Press he was thrilled with the news.

"It is absolutely superb," he said. "We have been fundraising now for two years and I must thank the village for its support. Everyone has been wonderful."

The new building will include a main hall area with a capacity for up to 120 people, meeting rooms, a kitchen and public toilets.

It will mean a huge change for the better for local people, especially the amateur dramatic group the Dunkery Players.

At the moment each time they want to stage a show the hall has to be inspected to ensure certain safety standards are met as it is simply too old and run-down to qualify for a permanent entertainments licence.

Mr Pinder added: "The old hall just does not comply with any of the current regulations - it is also very cold in the winter as the heating isn't much good either.

"The new hall will mean so much to the community - we have a flourishing carpet bowls club which will really benefit from this and there will be so much more we can do besides."

Local MP Tom King praised the dedication of everyone involved in the successful bid.

He said: "I am delighted to hear the news as it is one of the most substantial grants to be awarded in the constituency.

"It will give Wootton Courtenay residents the opportunity to get themselves a good village hall which should last them well into the future."

Hall committee members will be meeting in the next few days to draw up a timetable for the works, while the village fundraising effort will continue unabated until the remaining £17,000 shortfall has been raised.

Brian Tanner, the chairman of the regional Lottery awards committee, said the impact of grants such as this could not be underestimated.

He said: "We are doing our best to make sure that everyone has the help and encouragement they need to succeed.

"Awards like this make a real difference to local communities."

Other village communities which would like to make a similar application for Lottery funding to improve their facilities should contact the regional awards office on 01392 849701 for more information.