THE village hall in Guyhirn is to be given a new lease of life after years in the doldrums. A new board of trustees, made up of local people who have decided that the hall is absolutely vital to village life, has been elected. The hall has been struggl

THE village hall in Guyhirn is to be given a new lease of life after years in the doldrums.

A new board of trustees, made up of local people who have decided that the hall is "absolutely vital" to village life, has been elected.

The hall has been struggling for some years as Guyhirn has gone through "changes that have left it on the verge of losing its identity", according to a report from the Guyhirn Village Hall Trust.

Over the years pubs, shops and now the post office have closed. Plans for a new community and sports centre were shelved two years ago, despite an enormous amount of support from the local community.

The new chairman is Erbie Murat, who is also on the board of the Wisbech Community Development Trust and Fenland Links.

He said: "It's only been six weeks since 30 of us walked into the hall wondering what we could do to help, and so much has already been done. The trust is very clear about what it wants to achieve. We have already set up a village hall working party, a vibrant young people's working group and a pond working group. The results so far have been phenomenal."

Each group is working with volunteers to improve aspects of the village and repair and maintain the hall.