PARISH councillors have decided to lease out a York village hall to a pre-school group, following years of declining use.

Laura Daggett is setting up the group for 24 children, aged from two to five, at Osbaldwick Village Hall and will hold an open morning tomorrow, between 10am and noon.

Parish chairman Mark Warters said the council had bought the hall in 1969 from the parochial church council.

It has been used for a variety of purposes, including parish council meetings, public meetings, as a polling station, and by clubs, groups, classes and private functions.

However, use had declined in recent years to such a level that the village hall trust which ran it was suffering losses of up to £1,500 a year. Member-ship of the trust dropped so much that it was wound up and responsibility passed back to the parish council in July.

Coun Warters said a public meeting was called to discuss options for the hall, but no one showed any interest in taking on the running of the hall.

He said the parish hoped residents would understand its decision to lease out the hall commercially, which would raise a considerable rental income, enabling the council to spend money on repairs and services in the parish.

Miss Daggett said it was possible that in due course, individuals and organisations would be able to rent out the hall on evenings and at weekends.