A YEAR after a new kitchen was installed at Northlew Village Hall, the hard work of the committee has paid off again with the news that it has been awarded a lottery grant of £25,000. The money will purchase land behind the hall and new play equipment for the toddler group which meets there every week, the installation of a hearing loop, new china for the kitchen and new curtains. It will also help with training costs for committee members. Chairman of the hall for 40 years Dennis Adams said it was down to grants like this that the hall could continue. He said: ?Halls would not survive without grants like these. You have to work hard to get the money, but it is worth it when you see the changes that are being made.? Mr Adams said the community facility was thriving and had brought people together: ?It is used so much more than it used to be. Every week the toddler group meets here and there is the bingo and skittles twice a week. ?Some Saturdays we have fried breakfasts and we get 50 or 60 people here and then there is the church and the chapel who use the hall for big events.? Rehearsals are also under way for a pantomime early next year. The hearing loop will help people with hearing difficulties when there are speakers, and committee members are also receiving training on looking after the disabled people who use the hall. Northlew Village Hall Committee is hoping some new blood will join the team of volunteers now that the hall is going from strength to strength.