Magic at the parish hall!

THEY’VE been working magic on Culcheth’s Newchurch Parish Hall – in more ways than one.
On stage, the Newchurch Strollers produced their annual pantomime with all sorts of fairytale escapades.
Outside, workmen worked their own magic, transforming the exterior of the building as part of a £22,500 project to update and revamp the popular hall.
In fact, building work started while the panto was still running!
The Rector, Rev Dr Chris Stafford said: “The hall is an important building to the Culcheth community, regularly hosting around 30 community groups including pre-school, karate, dancing, Girl Guiding, dog training, and film club.
“The work is making good progress and it is expected to be completed before the end of March – enabling us to have many more years of fairytale endings!”
The hall is the oldest community facility in Culcheth, with parts of the building dating back to 1821, when it was the village school.
Before the restoration work started, however, it was in a deteriorating condition.
The project has been made possible thanks to a grant from The Veolia Environmental Trust, through the Landfill Communities Fund.
Executive director of the Trust, Margaret Cobbold, said: “Halls such as this are so important to their communities, providing a local meeting space for many activities. It is fantastic that we are able to support the repairs.”
Pictured: The cast of the panto – with scaffolding around the hall!