A community centre has been awarded £35,000 to accommodate more activities in their space and create more room for hire bookings.

Whalley Old Grammar School is a community centre that was established in the old school in 2013 and they will now benefit from the grant awarded by homebuilders Laurus as part of its commitment to supporting communities.

As well as the community centre, Whalley Sports Club will receive £20,000 and Whalley in Bloom has been awarded £15,000 from the overall £70,000 awarded by the Laurus Community Foundation Fund.

Laurus invited groups to apply for grants and residents were then asked to decide how much funding would be allocated to local organisations.

The community centre will put the money towards a project to convert currently unused roof space into a large multi-purpose room that can accommodate more physical and theatrical activities and will be more flexible for room hire bookings.

Run by the charitable organisation Whalley Educational Foundation established in 1914 to promote the education of local children, it currently offers a pre-school; adult education; arts and crafts such as woodwork, sewing, and pottery; vocational training; and space for community meetings.

Chair of trustees at the foundation Terry Hill said: “Whalley Educational Foundation are grateful that Laurus Homes invest in the communities in which they operate.

"We are so pleased to have been granted the Gold Award which will make a substantive difference to what we can offer to the people of Whalley and the surrounding areas.

“We are thankful that so many local residents voted for us.”

Zoe Taylor, communities manager at L&Q, which manages Laurus Homes, said: “We are really pleased that so many people voted and took the opportunity to have a say on which groups receive the most funding and, as a result, will have the biggest positive impact on their community.

“At Laurus we think of ourselves as much more than a homebuilder. We want to invest in the communities where we have homes. We feel it is especially important for us to invest in and support the communities in which we work during the ongoing cost of living crisis.”