WORK has started on a major renovation project at a village hall after a massive fundraising drive by local residents.

Booth Memorial Institute in Catterick Village needs a £150,000 make-over including major repairs to the roof, windows and structure of the building to prevent the 19th century building from crumbling.

A group of residents set up Friends of the Booth Hall in December last year and since then have been desperately fundraising and appealing for local council grants – and are now thrilled to see the first phase of work has begun.

Margaret Tickner, chairman of the friends group, said: “Thanks to a lot of hard work by the Friends of the Booth Hall, plus donations from Catterick Village Parish Council, Richmondshire District Council Community Opportunity Fund and The Jack Brunton Fund we now have enough money to start on Stage 1 of the first phase of the renovation works.

“On September 1 the stonemasons began work, and on September 14 the roof work was started. This phase of the work should be completed by the middle of October, then we hope to have received another grant and be able to do the rest of the stonework and replace the windows.

“We are really excited about being able to start work so soon, it is only eight months since fundraising started so we feel this is a marvellous achievement.”

The Friends of the Booth Hall has raised £12,000 towards the target, with £4,000 from Catterick Village Parish Council, by holding weekly raffles, coffee mornings and monthly lunches.

Local artist Pat Bradshaw has produced a painting of the hall which the group had made into cards to sell, and the group has come up with original ideas to raise awareness of the cause, such as a project to knit more than 700 squares to be sewn into a scarf that local children helped to wrap around the hall, raising £1,000.

Mrs Tickner added: “We are now waiting to hear about a second funding application to replace the windows, and to make the hall air tight for winter.

“All the usual clubs and activities are still taking place in the hall despite all the work going on because we don’t want to stop the community from using it – it might be difficult but we will manage.”