CALSTOCK village hall has had a modern upgrade with the installation of new windows.

The unveiling of the new windows took place on Friday and many locals dropped by to see the new addition to the hall. The reopening started at 4pm with tea and cake, followed by a ribbon cutting ceremony at 5pm leading itself into an evening of cocktails, music and chat.

Matt Taylor, hall administrator said in response to the window unveiling: ‘It moves the hall into the 21st century.

‘It connects the inside of the hall to the beautiful surroundings.’

Julia Stoneman, Chair of the committee that runs the hall, echoed these views and said: ‘It feels like a new building. It looks really modern.’

The wall features new glass windows and a large door which opens out into the garden, providing stunning views of the valley.

The Calstock village hall, situated by the water’s edge, was built by community volunteers 30 years ago and now operates as a charity run by a dedicated committee.

The village hall serves as a community hub for the people of Calstock, providing an essential space for subsidised user-groups such as the pre-school which runs three days a week and also exercise classes such as yoga , tai-chi and belly-dancing.

The hall was originally built using recycled materials such as the hall floor which was originally from a gym in Plymouth.

The installation of the new windows was conducted in line with this ethos by using second-hand windows purchased from a showroom and also from ebay. ‘As a committee, we try to be as environmentally-friendly as we can’, said Matt, ‘the committee wanted to try and replicate the spirit of the building of the hall through using these recycled materials.’

Funding for the windows came from money raised by events at the hall and was partially funded by a National Lottery Community Fund grant of £5000 and Ikea.

Before the ribbon cutting, committee member Janet Taylor made a speech giving thanks to those volunteers that had given up their time and also to the committee for their dedication to the hall. Special thanks were also given to Gordon Martin, a local architect in Calstock who offered his time to put plans together.

The hall is virtually fully committed with groups, but due to the groups being subsidised, more funds are required for upkeep of the hall. Janet Taylor said: ‘Money from the groups is not enough. All events fund the hall.’

The committee hopes that through events and money coming in, these funds will be able to be invested back into the hall and permit more upgrades to be made.

The village hall is currently available for private-hire and it is hoped that the new windows will enable the committee to run more evening events and also branch out into weddings. Private-hire events will allow the hall that is run by the community, for the community, to be maintained and upgraded.

The committee plans to organise an event once a month to be held at the hall with the next event being Mad Dog McCrea on Friday October 14.