'Long Lee Village Hall must be used or it may be lost' (From Keighley News)

'Long Lee Village Hall must be used or it may be lost'

7:00am Tuesday 25th September 2012 in Keighley Exclusive By David Knights

“Use it or lose it" is the warning issued by bosses of Long Lee Village Hall.

They desperately need more volunteers to serve on the building's management committee.

They also need more people to book the hall for either one-off events or regular group meetings.

Long Lee and Thwaites Brow Action Group, which runs the building, needs more income in order to pay the running costs.

The appeal for help was made by Bradford councillor Doreen Lee, one of the committee members, after the annual meeting. She said volunteers could not be found to take the place of the outgoing chairman and treasurer.

Coun Lee said committee members had done a good job of keeping the building open during the past 12 months, but some of them were getting old.

She said: "We need Long Lee and Thwaites Brow to wake up to the fact that they have a village hall and it's for all of them.

"It needs people to use it. We need new blood. We need people who have fresh ideas to come along and give us a kick."

Coun Lee said the hall, which had a kitchen, was useful for private functions like children's parties, and regular meetings and classes.

The hall is currently used by a Scout group and an art group, and there are plans to open a parent and toddler group.

The village hall was opened in 2007 in the former village school's nursery, with the action group paying a peppercorn rent to the building's owners, Bradford Council.

Last year the action group called on villagers to help save the underused building from closure.

A meeting will be held on Wednesday at 7pm in the village hall for anyone interested in getting involved.