Wilburton villagers are set to get an improved village hall thanks to thousands of pounds in grants.

The community has a £50,000 grant from funding body WREN and a grant of £36,000 from the Cambridgeshire Fens Rural LEADER programme.

It is hoped the hall will be ready for use by July 2018.

Kevin Hennessy, chairman of Wilburton Parish Council, believes the facility will make a huge difference to the lives of people living in the area.

He said: “This project will provide a real boost to the people of Wilburton. It’s fantastic that WREN and the Rural LEADER programme have awarded us this money and we’re really looking forward to our new village hall taking shape over the next six months”

The money, awarded by WREN’s FCC Community Action Fund and the Rural LEADER Programme, will be used to improve the main hall at the St Peter’s Hall site on the High Street.

The false ceiling in the hall can be removed bringing the hall back to its former glory with vaulted ceiling, revealing the beautiful dormer windows that have been hidden for a number of years.

The roof will be fully insulated, the heating replaced with new energy efficient under floor heating suitable for the enlarged space and there will be a new sprung floor.

The hall will be fully redecorated so it is a modern facility suitable for a growing community.

The village hall working group is working on a programme of social events for the community to be held in the hall throughout the year.

They say the renovations will provide a great venue for indoor events to complement the extremely successful outdoor events of the Beer Festival and fireworks that the vibrant community of Wilburton already organise.

Cheryl Raynor, WREN’s grant manager for Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, said: “We are delighted to be supporting the village hall internal renovation project and pleased that our funding will provide such a fantastic facility for the village and surrounding areas.

“WREN is always happy to consider grant applications for projects that make a difference to local communities and we’re really looking forward to seeing this one take shape soon.”

WREN is a not-for-profit business that awards grants for community, biodiversity and heritage projects from funds donated by FCC Environment through the Landfill Communities Fund.