CHRISTMAS has come early for Beverley! Memorial Hall has received a major donation to kickstart its appeal for a new purpose-built complex.
The donation - worth £50,000 - has been given by an anonymous benefactor and the trustees who run the hall say it’s a huge boost to their hopes for an arts and community base.
Last month they sent out letters to nearly 1,000 businesses in the Beve
rley area asking for donations for the £2.3m scheme.
They are hoping that the anonymous gift will encourage other donors to back the scheme – enabling work to start in the second half of next year.
East Riding Council has pledged £750,000 to the project, from the sale of the town’s Picture Playhouse, and Beverley Town Council has agreed to borrow £500,000 to help fund the scheme. Fund-raising efforts have raised around £30,000.
The trustees say they are delighted with the anonymous donation and help it will encourage many others in the community to back the dream.
Trustee Jim Whitfield said the donor has given the Hall a £37,000 donation, which is worth £50,000 to the appeal because it is gift-aided, enabling the tax to be reclaimed.
“We are extremely pleased – this kickstarts our fund raising campaign and we need substantial donations from Beverley-based organisation so what we can show that there is huge local sentiment which believes the Hall has a future.
“We still need in excess of £100,000 to close up the funding gap, but the benefactor has been very generous and we are more than grateful to him for his contribution. Now we hope his generosity will be matched by others," he said.
Mr Whitfield said he understands the donor is a local person. "I believe it is someone who is Beverley-based who cares about the Memorial Hall. The terms were that the donation would be anonymous," he said.
The trustees already have planning consent for the scheme, which involves demolishing the existing building in Lairgate and replacing it with a purpose built hall which will include a 300-seater theatre, space for dance events, meeting rooms, cafe and bar, kitchen and toilets.
The hall is still taking bookings for functions and events up to mid summer 2009, and it is hoped that work will get under way towards the end of the year.
The trustees have already pledged that not a single brick will be removed until all the funding is in place.
