Villagers in Nantwich are one step closer to securing a £400,000 lottery windfall to help build a new community hall.
A fund-raising team from Worleston has made it through to the final stage in their Big Lottery Fund development grant bid.
And if all goes to plan, they could have the money in less than six months to start building a hall on land next to the former police house in the village.
Roger Birchall, vice chairman of the Worleston & District Village Hall Association (WDVHA), said they are now working on a detailed business plan after the land was signed over to them for the proposed venue.
Mr Birchall said: “The two-acre plot of land was donated to us by William Midwood, and now we officially own that land we can move forward to the final stage of the application.
“We have been asked to submit the stage 3 application. Big Lottery have given us a grant of £23,000 to fund this final stage so we feel that we have an excellent chance of succeeding.
“The deadline for this final stage is mid August and Big Lottery have three months in which to give their decision.
“If all goes to plan, building work could start straight away and we could have a new village hall by later summer 2014. It is an exciting prospect.”
Plans for the hall go back many years after a former Scout hut was demolished eight years ago after falling into disrepair.
“The village has been without any sort of community building since then,” added Mr Birchall.
“And we’ve never had the money before to do anything about it. But we’ve worked very hard on these plans.
“We paid a peppercorn rent for the land for several years, but the lottery required us to actually own it and now that has been signed over.”
The WDVHA, which is a registered charity, is working with Big Lottery Fund mentor Geoff Slater on the final stage of the bid.
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