A major refurbishment of the village hall in St Boswells has moved a step closer after the award of almost £175,000 of funding.
The cash boost, from the Scottish Government’s Climate Challenge Fund, was announced last week.
The £174,383 goes a long way towards the £400,000-plus scheme to refurbish the 117-year-old building.
Robin Wild, chairman of the village hall committee, told The Southern he was pleasantly surprised by the amount awarded.
“We thought if they gave us £100,000 it would be more than we could have expected, but we had a terrific team, a little group of professionals in this kind of business, who put together a really professional application.”
Planning approval for the work was granted by the council in January this year.
Mr Wild said: “When we started fundraising we thought we should have the credibility of having it all planned, costed and planning permission in place.”
Insulation between the beams in the main hall, double glazing and a new internal staircase are planned, as well as a wider entrance off Jenny Moore’s Road, a larger internal foyer and fully accessible toilets.
“Once we get a new entrance and it all looking nice, we rather hope that people will use it for wedding receptions and things like that,” said Mr Wild.
“The other thing is that it is one of the larger halls in this part of the Borders, so it could attract things from other villages. We think its use will increase a lot.”
He added: “The cost of the overall project is a bit over £400,000, but we have already collected over £100,000 and now we have this £174,000 we will go out to the village during August to ask for their contribution. So I live in hope that we will get to £400,000 reasonably soon.”
Mr Wild said: “It has been a great fillip getting this grant as we have now got serious money and can start with the project.
“We are going to be bold and try to let the whole thing as one contract as we reckon builders will be more interested in it that way and because it will keep costs down. As it is mostly internal work it will be a good job for them through the winter.”
The committee is awaiting news regarding an application to the council’s landfill fund, and will also be approaching local charities to help raise the total required.