A VILLAGE hall at the centre of its community faces an uncertain future due to problems with funding and local support.

Heighington Village Hall is currently in need of major repairs including the replacement of all its single-glazed windows.

However, complications arise for its committee as repair costs greatly exceed the allocated budget because of its placement in a conservation area.

Its windows must also be made as close to the original frames as possible, adding to material costs.

To further the problem, the listed building’s lease runs out in ten years and a decision will then be made over whether Darlington Borough Council will continue to support the upkeep.

Stuart Allison, chairman of the Heighington Village Hall Association said: “It’s an old building, and like all old buildings it needs a lot of work done. We can’t afford to do it all on our own.”

The committee are looking for more residents to step up and help keep the village hall alive.

Mr Allison said: “The main thing we need is for people to come forward for the committee and fundraising. We need a lot more younger people, and by younger I mean even people in their 40s.”

The hall is used by many organisations in the area such as scout groups, the village pre-school and nursery, the Women’s Institution and is also the meeting place for the Parish Council.

Entirely ran on a voluntary basis, the committee organises fundraising events throughout the year to keep the hall going – with two of its members currently seeing to all the maintenance, handling everything from painting the walls to outdoor cladding.

Karin Allison, part of the committee and president of the Women’s Institution, said: “Very rarely we get new members and it is an enduring problem. If it wasn’t here as an asset the village would struggle.”

The Heighington Village Hall Association will be holding an AGM on Tuesday March 13 and asks that residents will turn up to show their support for the public building.

Mr Allison is also applying for a grant for the building’s repairs. To be successful he needs three repair quotes from businesses and must demonstrate a community-based effort.

He added: “At the moment it’s trundling all right but in ten years, which will go very quickly, there could be a problem.”