PERSISTENCE is paying off for a village hall just outside Tenbury that has undergone a transformation.

St Michael’s Village Hall has undergone a series of improvements in the last few years to turn it into a modern community facility.

But it remains work in progress and the group behind the project still has further enhancements planned and is waiting for news on a grant application.

There was a party last year to mark the completion of the latest phase of improvements to the village hall.

It marked the culmination of work that began in 2013 at St Michael’s Hall when the floor was completely replaced and new under floor heating installed.

This removed a problem with a section of the old floor that was rotting and also enabled electric convector heaters, that were expensive to run and hazardous to young children, to be removed.

At the same time new modern windows with low sills were installed along with French windows linking the car park to the hall.

Since then the front of the building has been transformed and additional storage provided for chairs and other equipment. Fencing and gateposts have also been removed and the car park extended.

A new phase of work to improve toilet, bar and kitchen facilities is starting.

The hall at St Michael’s has a long history and was originally a corrugated iron shed on Oldwood Common.

It was moved to its present site in 1956 with the installation of toilets, a kitchen and storage area. Then 20 years ago the iron structure was replaced with a traditional brick building.

The work on the hall has been paid for by a combination of local fund raising and grants.

But it has not all been plain sailing and just over two years ago members of the hall committee had to bounce back after a Lottery bid for £100,000 was turned down.

However, the group picked itself up and have found other ways or funding the work which ranged from a scheme where the hall was used to enable people to sell unwanted items to the production of a village calendar.

The hall is used regularly by many groups and organisations from the village and surrounding area.