A late 1930s village hall is in line for a 21st century makeover.

Building work is under way to modernise Cotebrook Village Hall near Tarporley to provide new toilets and an extra meeting room.

The project to modernise the hall, which has been in use for 80 years, is a step closer now that the foundation stone has been laid in a special ceremony.

The work is being funded by a £61,720.80 grant from WREN’s FCC Community Action Fund. It will provide new toilets, a wheel chair accessible cubical, a new kitchen and an extra meeting room together with a new more appealing frontage once it is open.

Judith Walters, chairman of the hall management committee, says she is ‘excited that the project is starting to take shape’.

The launch ‘marked a very special day in the history of Cotebrook Village Hall’ when hall president Bill Holroyd and his wife Julie performed the foundation stone ceremony as work started to renovate the building on Stable Lane off the A49.

They were joined, in glorious sunshine, with special guests, community and committee members, regular hall users and preschool children and staff.

In addition to the grant from WREN, the management committee said they were ‘extremely grateful for the ‘very generous donations’ made by Sir John Timpson, The Holroyd Foundation, Phil Redmond and his wife Alexis and the Leverhulme Foundation’.

“It is great to see our vision for this vital community facility moving closer to reality. We are extremely grateful for the funding WREN has given us and we are looking forward to opening to the public,” added Judith.

At an earlier stage she suggested: “All these changes will modernise the hall and make it appropriate for our community in the 21st century.”

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

Richard Smith, WREN’s grant manager for Cheshire, said: “It’s always nice to see something we have funded start to take shape. We’re delighted to be supporting such a worthwhile project and look forward to it benefiting community groups in Cotebrook and the surrounding area.”