On the 9th June we were able to announce our success in obtaining Lottery funding to extend and improve the village hall. For those of you who have not heard we were awarded, £154,315. In addition to this we also received from Cherwell District Council, £18,000 for which we are most grateful.

I would like to publicly thank the whole village hall committee and the villagers who contributed to our success. In particular I would like to thank Christine Bell who was “elected” our project manager. It is largely due to her hard work and perseverance that we are where we are. Other key people were Peter Stollwood whose financial expertise shaped our business case and David Bennett whose experience in gaining lottery grants was invaluable in pulling our application. together.

We committed to you last year that we would raise the necessary capital funding through our own efforts and I’m obviously relieved that we have managed to do so. This money is working capital and effectively spent so please don’t stop supporting us, we still need revenue to maintain what we have.

I will keep you informed of our progress and hope you will celebrate with us a superb achievement.

Ian O’Hara Chairman, Sibford Village Hall