RESIDENTS of a village near Dorchester finally have a new village hall thanks to local fundraising efforts and grants from the Big Lottery Fund.

The new hall in Moreton is the first to be built in Dorset in the last five years, and the keys were handed to members of the Moreton Village Hall Management Committee on Monday, March 23.

Catherine Chandler, chair of the Moreton Village Hall Management Committee, said: “Local residents were determined to retain a community facility in the village and at a well attended public meeting in March 2012, took the decision to build a new hall.

“This project has already brought the community together through numerous fundraising events and I look forward to building on this, with the new hall providing a social focal point for present and future residents.

“Moreton residents look forward to extending a warm welcome to neighbouring villagers so they too can benefit from this new facility in our rural area.”

The old village hall was donated by the Army in 1921 shortly after the First World War. It was originally two army huts which were transported to the site from Bovington by horse and cart and joined together to form the hall.

But Committee members said the hall was poorly sited on a triangle of land surrounded by roads and overshadowed by trees, and had sadly reached the stage where it was beyond economic repair.

The new hall has now been built in the field opposite with a wall of south facing windows overlooking the sports field.

This long awaited event has been made possible by local fundraising efforts, grants from the Big Lottery Fund, Purbeck District Council and companies such as Viridor Credits Environmental and Garfield Weston.

The first public event at the new village hall will be a family preview of the hall on Saturday, April 11 from 10am to noon.

This offers the chance for local families to meet, have a look around the new hall and be involved in planning new clubs and activities.

This will be followed by a book and coffee morning on April 18, from 10am to noon when everyone is invited to come and see the new hall.

The new hall can now also be booked for private functions and events.

For more information visit moretonvillagehall@btck.co.uk.