Capital funding to be made available over a three-year period to support village hall improvement projects across England with an eye to boosting rural communities.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced that it will launch a major new renovation fund to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

The new £3 million capital grant fund will provide grant funding over three years (to 2025) to support capital improvement projects for village halls, such as installing Wi-Fi, extending buildings and modernising facilities. There are currently around 10,000 village halls across England. This funding is expected to be awarded to 125 village halls.

The Government has not yet released details on how the funding will be administered but states it will be announced ‘in due course’.

Commenting on the announcement, Chair of the Rural Coalition, Margaret Clark CBE said:

“Village halls provide the focal point for village life. They support important services and facilities and offer places to meet which would not otherwise be available to many rural communities.

“[The new fund] will allow more village halls to upgrade and modernise their premises, so that they can continue to meet the needs of their communities in the years to come.”

The Platinum Jubilee Village Halls Improvement Grant Fund follows a tradition of investments being made in village halls for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897 and King George V's Silver Jubilee in 1935.

The press release can be viewed on GOV.UK website.

Full details of the new fund will be provided as soon as they become available.