Over 120 people squeezed into the newly-refurbished hall at Our Lady’s Catholic Church in March to celebrate its formal opening.

The Rt Rev Alan Hopes, Bishop of East Anglia, blessed the new hall last week as parishioners mingled with the architects and builders along with guests from other churches and the wider community.

A short ceremony opened the evening where, after a short reading from the bible, Bishop Alan spoke about the huge achievement the parish had made in providing such a “beautiful resource” for themselves and for the wider community.

Parish Priest, Fr Paul Maddison, thanked all who had been involved in the venture and all who had donated over £115,000 in just two years towards the hall, which cost £250,000.

He said he “had faith” that the remaining money would come and welcomed the addition of the new hall to the life of the parish and the town.

After a vote of thanks from two of the parishioners at Our Lady’s everyone enjoyed a celebratory drink.