COOKLEY’S newly built £945,000 village hall and sports club will be officially opened this weekend and community groups are already lining up to use the facilities.

Former Wyre Forest MP Richard Taylor will declare the building open on Saturday, February 5.

Construction started a year ago and the project was completed last month.

The building comprises a sports club lounge, two meeting rooms with computers and internet, a kitchen, a snooker room and a 200 metre square hall, with a stage for performances.

It has ground source heating and rainwater harvesting systems, which provide sustainable heating and a renewable water source.

David Bareford, secretary of the Cookley Playing Field and Village Hall Association, said: “We are very grateful to the many funders who have helped us achieve our dreams. The village of Cookley and the surrounding areas are looking forward to using such a lovely building, of which they are justly proud.

"Cookley desperately needed a village hall and one can see how excited the community are from their eagerness to enjoy the new facilities available.”

Dr Bareford estimated 600 to 800 people will use facilities at the Village Hall and Sports Club every week.

Many groups have already signed up for weekly use of the facilities, including Cookley Women’s Institute, Cookley Over 60s, Cookley Amateur Dramatics Society, Brownies, Rainbows and bingo, table tennis and fitness clubs.

Requests are also flooding in for people to use the building for anniversaries, wedding receptions and other functions.

Cookley Village Hall and Sports Club received a combination of local and national funding towards the project, including £470,000 donated by St Peter's Church from the sale of the old Parish Hall site and £264,000 from the Big Lottery Fund. It also received contributions from Biffaward, Welcome to our Future and Cory Environmental Trust in Britain (CETB).