Community hub opens after 'future-proofing' revamp

A community hub in Barnsley has reopened after a refurbishment scheme to "future-proof" the facilities.

Great Houghton Miners' Welfare Hall has been transformed using funds from Barnsley Council's Principal Towns and Local Centres programme.

Mayor of Barnsley Councillor John Clarke attended an opening ceremony at the venue to cut its ribbon.

Great Houghton Parish Councillor Dorothy Coates said she "couldn't place any higher importance" on community spaces, but "some need a helping hand".

"You'd be forgiven for riding through villages like ours and thinking there's nothing going off, but you go into the community buildings and there's lots going off - villages would be so much less without them," Coates said.

She said the hub helped to support residents' wellbeing, with Great Houghton's Town and Residents Association running bingo events at the welfare hall, making sure to check in on any regulars who did not attend.

The hall was established in the 1920s by local pit workers, then given to the parish council when they could no longer afford to run it.

The building has had its roof replaced, an office extension built, the kitchen renovated and LED lighting installed throughout. Wheelchair access has also been improved.

Without the funding from Barnsley Council, Coates said the parish council could not have financed the upgrades.

"It really will future-proof this building, it'll go on for another hundred years," she said.

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