AS A GRANT of almost £50,000 will be given to Trowbridge Town Hall to offer free space for community groups, restore the floor in the court room and hold a New Year fair.

The cheque for £49,984 comes from a partnership between Co-op’s charity, the Co-op Foundation, and the department for digital, culture, media and sport and will be presented to the trust and used to improve facilities to ensure a positive future for the building which is now run by the community.

The money will go towards several projects including promoting community activity through the town and develop their long term strategic plan.

As the new funding is announced, the Trowbridge Youth and District Band who practice at the town hall say feel they may need to find a new venue as more and more groups come to the hall.

Band chairman Christine Webber said: “The future plans for the town hall do not take into consideration any of the band’s requirements.

“We feel we will either need to rehearse in other rooms or find an alternative venue when they want to use our usual rehearsal room.

“However, the town hall cannot provide alternative rooms which are large enough to accommodate the band.

"As a result the committee feel that we need to find alternative accommodation which we will be looking into within Trowbridge.

David Lockwood, director at Trowbridge Town Hall, said: “This grant is transformational for an organisation like ours and a town like Trowbridge.

“Our building was dedicated for the benefit of the residents of the town for ever. 130 years on, funding from Space to Connect allows us to continue to serve this purpose, offering space and support for communities across Trowbridge.

“We’re delighted to be a home to the Trowbridge Youth and District Band and to provide them with a significant discount and free annual storage to enable their activities to take place. As the Town Hall has become more popular, other groups have enquired about using this public building. We were happy to partner on the Weaver’s Markets this summer, a not-for-profit community initiative that has been remarkably successful.

“I’m committed to finding a way to accommodate bands within the Town Hall going forward, as I am all about community groups in Trowbridge. I’ve met with leaders and offered to continue to meet to find a mutually beneficial solution.

“As someone who used to play the oboe every Saturday morning in a youth band, I would be deeply upset to lose this community organisation.”