ST Dogmaels Memorial Hall has undergone a £20,000 facelift but villagers are being warned to use the facility or risk losing it.

An area at the rear of the hall has now been turned into a large bright room, useful for get-togethers or parties with its own kitchen area, toilets and rear access to the car park, making it self-contained. It also has a small outside area.

It has been named the Gollop Room and a small plaque was recently unveiled by the chairman of the Community Council to mark the event.

The hall has a variety of classes, sports and meetings every week and is also available for hire. There are two good-sized meeting rooms and a very large main hall with a stage, with spotlights and a professional sound system and another fully equipped kitchen.

The recent refurbishment, which also saw LED lighting installed throughout the building, was due to the generosity of two legacies, the first from Mr Ian Gollop whose love of the village was well known and the second from Mr Thomas Davies, who had a connection to the village and although moving to London never forgot his Welsh roots.

Hall chairman Phil Hutchings said: “It costs £10,000 a year just to run the hall and it’s important that people in the village use the facility as if it is not used, we will lose it.

“Any money we have in the central pot is for capital projects only and not day-to-day running.”

As well as hiring out the hall, one idea also being looked at is setting up a local hall group across Cerieigion and Pembrokeshire.

It would involve anyone sitting on a hall committee to attend a meeting possibly once a quarter and discuss and exchange information on running their hall.

“We all face the same challenges and some might have solved problems that we are currently dealing with, so it makes sense,” said Mr Hutchings.

We would hope each hall would host in turn starting with a tour of their hall, which is always good for pinching ideas, then a chat over teas and biscuits (or my awesome cake).

St Dogmaels is hosting the first meeting on Thursday, March 7 at 7.30pm and all are welcome.

Anyone interested in hiring any part of the Memorial Hall can contact Sophy Dale on 01239 612618.