VILLAGERS are due to celebrate the arrival of the year 2001 with the opening of a new-look community centre.

The refurbished and extended village hall at Biddulph Moor will feature a new bar and lounge area and revamped buffet room.

Disabled toilets, baby changing area and new kitchen are also included in the upgrade, work on which is due to begin next month.

The project costs £75,000, and has been given the green light thanks to a £30,000 grant from the Staffordshire Environmental Fund and Landfill Tax Credit Scheme.

The grant is the latest and largest won by the village hall management committee, which has raised £20,000 towards the scheme.

A Biddulph Moor builder is to carry out the work on the hall in Hot Lane, and committee members are hoping to officially open the new-look building by February.

"We began raising funds for the scheme two years ago, and are delighted with the £30,000 grant, which allows us to make a start on the work," said committee secretary Linda Rogers.

"The improvements and extension will make a big difference, in particular to disabled people.

"We've had wheelchair users coming to dances at the hall, but they were unable to use the toilets.

"We're also having a new stainless steel kitchen to replace the present one, which is a bit dilapidated.

"The scheme is aimed at making the hall more attractive, and we're hoping to put on new things such as a first aid course and computer course run by one of the colleges."

The project won a £15,000 grant from the National Lottery Charities Board, and smaller grants from the lottery, Moorlands Council, Millennium Festival Awards for All and Biddulph Town Council.

Local businesses also provided raffles prizes for a fund-raising summer fair.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.