A village hall has been awarded more than £24,000 in the latest round of funding from Braintree Council’s Mi Community programme.

The Kelvedon Institute, in High Street, Kelvedon, will use the cash to build a second hall to accommodate bookings for weddings, parties, meeting, and other events.

Chairman Jill Hinds said: “We are over the moon. The hall has been open for just over 100 years and we hope that we are doing something now which will last far into the next century.”

In total, villagers have raised more than £200,000 for the project, which will be built on nearby land donated by the parish council.

Mrs Hinds said: “We are slightly incredulous that we have managed to do it. We applied for lots of grants but you don’t get something from every one.

“We got planning permission in March 2013 and we really started fundraising very seriously in August.

“We have had some generous donations, we started off with a £15k from an anonymous donor and we went from there.”

Other grants have come from Essex County Council and the environmental foundation Veolia.

Braintree Council awarded more than £160,000 in grants this year, with £41,990 made available for schemes in Witham and surrounding villages.

This included £10,000 to Witham Town FC for new pitches and £7,900 to Kelvedon & Feering Cricket Club.

In total, almost £36,500 was given to projects in Braintree, including £4,076 to Braintree and Gosfield scout groups.

Since the scheme began over 40 community groups have received amounts ranging from £1,500 to £25,000 The process for allocating the next round of Mi Community funding will begin in September.

Those groups applying for financial support must show fresh thinking and innovation in projects that will have a tangible benefit to community life.