FUNDRAISERS aiming to raise £40,000 to refurbish a York community hall are looking for businesses to support their venture.

The church hall at St Edward The Confessor in Tadcaster Road, Dringhouses, hopes to raise the cash to renovate the hall with new kitchens and toilets, and connect it to the church.

Recently the Noel G Terry Foundation donated £3,000 to the project which last year received a £250,000 grant from a local charitable group which asked to remain anonymous.

Architect Mark Tabert drew up detailed plans for the project and fundraisers want to do a lot to the building, including renewing the heating, adding windows in the roof with internal blinds, taking out the chimney stacks and insulating the walls and ceiling.

They also want to upgrade the external area of the Scout hall and install electrical features such as screens and projectors for Powerpoint presentations.

Now the community hall steering group has asked members of the St Edward the confessor congregation for help in approaching the business community.

Sue Baldock, on behalf of the project steering group, said: “The project is making major forward strides, even if they are invisible to most. Progress on other issues is happening too – such as alternative accommodation for groups during building and some pre-building church work needed, but we still need to raise a considerable sum of money for the hall project and support for fundraising events.”

The group has also set up a mydonate site for donations to the church and to the hall project which has so far received £380.60.

To donate to this go to https://mydonate.bt.com/events/stedwardscommunityhall/116248

The hall is used by a wide variety of groups including Probus, the University of the Third Age, the Dringhouses local history group and yoga and art clubs.

If you can make a donation or know of any group, trust or business to whom the church can apply for a grant, please email the parish office at parishoffice@care4free.net