THE management of a village hall which is marking its 60th anniversary has been shortlisted for a national award.

Littlethorpe Village Hall, near Ripon, will compete against three other organisations from across the country for a £2,000 prize and a Biffa Award, which recognise people who transform their communities.

The hall, which is the only community facility in the village, received a grant of £10,000 in funding from Biffa to demolish the existing small and damp store room and replace it with a new, larger store room.

Since the store room was opened by Ripon MP Julian Smith, there has been a 20 per cent increase in the hall's usage.

A village hall spokeswoman said the £30,000 project, which was funded with £18,000 in grants and the remainder through fundraising, said the new room had made an enormous difference to the community.

She said: "It has helped a range of classes which use to hall as they can store their equipment instead of having to ferry it around, as well as raising the hall's profile."