AN organisation which supports dozens of village halls is facing an uphill struggle to find funding to cover its costs.

Officials at the Teesdale Village Halls Consortium, based at Mickleton, near Barnard Castle, say the organisation is currently running on its reserves.

Chariman David Hutchinson said there was enough money to see the charity through the next 12 months, but conceded that finding new sources of funding was proving increasingly difficult.

“Revenue funding is the big problem. We are trying to find some funding so we can stay in existence,” he said.

“Like a lot of charities, we had various income streams that seem to have disappeared.”

He added: “We have bid to the National Lottery and I would be delighted if we get a positive answer.

“We've had some good projects that were good for the consortium money-wise and we are living off that at the moment.

“We have been quite prudent. We know what we've got and that we have to make it last.

“We are still here – and there are quite a few charities which are not.”

Mr Hutchinson said in an ideal world, £25,000 to £30,000 would be “more than enough.”

The consortium was formed in 1995 and aims to improve the quality of life for Teesdale's communities through improved village halls an community centres.

Two part time staff are employed who provide advice and guidance to individual hall committees. They also help with funding queries.

The consortium also compiles the comprehensive Teesdale events guide.

Most recently, the group organised a project to fit defibrillators at 10 halls around the dale – Mickleton, Romaldkirk, Bowes, Eggleston, Hutton Magna, Hamsterley, Butterknowle, Barningham, Cockfield and Stainton Village.

Mr Hutchinson said this had been an excellent project, made possible with the help of the North Pennine Dales Leader fund.

“Defibrillator training is ongoing at the moment, provided by the North East Ambulance Trust," he said.

“Our target was to have 20 people, but there has been training for more than 100 already.

“We are hoping to get funding for more defibrillators. There are some empty spaces around the dale such as the Woodland and Copley area.”