The grant was awarded by the National Lottery initiative designed to help local groups, Awards for All.

It will be used to make the toilet block watertight and to design and fabricate fencing to link the hall and the toilets.

Liz Thompson is Shiptonthorpe Village Hall Management Committee’s treasurer. She said: “We recognised that there was a need to provide a secure path between the hall and the toilets and, drawing inspiration from the mural in the hall that depicts Shiptonthorpe’s history, we thought that we could make a feature instead of just a fence. We sought the advice of renowned Yorkshire community artist, Adam Reynolds, and will incorporate images of local people, animals and landmarks.”

In addition to the fence, the funding will pay for the area between the hall and the toilets to be resurfaced, the toilet block roof repaired and some indoor games equipment.

Trustee Simon Baty said “It is hoped that these initial improvements will result in a further increase of bookings and that the indoor games equipment will also attract more users.

“The committee hopes that this will be the first of more successful grant applications that will allow us to achieve a fit-for-purpose structure providing a financially and environmentally sustainable community facility.”

There will be a consultation meeting with villagers to discuss the fence’s detail and villagers are urged to look out for posters announcing the date.

More than 30 volunteers have helped bring the hall up to scratch by improving the toilet facilities, resolving the drainage problems in the car park and bringing the electrics in line with legislation, thanks to the help of a local electrician.

The committee is arranging social evenings. The next planned event in the hall will be the Brain of Shiptonthorpe n 12 September.