A VILLAGE hall is to undergo a £150,000 development, two years after opening.

The new look Chipping Village Hall will provide a wide range of facilities including an on-line centre for educational and training opportunities.

It will have a gym and meeting space created by converting unused loft space after a village appraisal revealed residents felt there was a lack of health and recreational facilities.

The hall is expected to give the community access to additional activities and has been funded by the Countryside Agency's vital village scheme and the East Lancashire Partnership-led Enterprising Rural Communities SRB5 programme.

The decision to expand the range of facilities on offer at the hall follows the village appraisal, which also showed that local people felt there was a severe lack of facilities available for young people.

The appraisal was carried out as part of a parish plan exercise, also funded by the vital villages scheme. The development includes the conversion of the loft space into additional meeting rooms and the upgrading of the hall's IT equipment.

The project will also provide one of 22 new UK on-line centres being developed with the East Lancashire Learning Partnership to provide local communities with increased access to a broad range of educational and training opportunities.

A new meeting space will allow an increased range of youth activities. The new gym has been equipped in partnership with Ribble Valley Borough Council.

It will also be used for the exercise on prescription scheme, where doctors will be able to prescribe the use of the facilities at a reduced rate to any patients whose health would benefit.

A spokesman for the committee said: " We are confident that the new services will provide benefits to residents of all ages and backgrounds

while further expanding the range of employment opportunities provided by the village hall."

To find out more about the scheme call free on 0870 3330170, or for the Enterprising Rural Communities Programme, contact Janet Mitton on 01254 380676 or e-mail janetm@elp.ork.uk