LUDLOW’S Mascall Centre, now known as Ludlow Conference Centre is one step closer to becoming a warmer, drier and more comfortable place thanks to The Veolia Environmental Trust.

It has awarded the Bishop Mascall Centre Foundation a grant of £75,008 towards replacing the leaky roof at the centre on Lower Galdeford.

This grant means that since 1998, the trust has awarded grants totalling £2m to 71 Shropshire community and environmental projects.

The centre is a multi-use facility based in a Victorian school, built in 1857. Replacing the roof will improve the building’s energy-efficiency and ensure that it can be used and enjoyed by the whole community for many years to come.

Work will now start on finalising the details of their project, including the start date, so it can get up and running as soon as possible.

Grants are awarded through the Landfill Communities Fund.

“We are so please to have been awarded this grant,” said Tina Healy, director of the Ludlow Conference Centre.

“Upgrading the centre will benefit the whole community and we are looking forward to work getting underway.”

Paul Taylor, executive director of The Veolia Environment Trust, said: “We have now been supporting community and environmental projects in Shropshire for over 16 years.

“The total of £2m in grants, including this one, demonstrates our commitment to improving the lives of people living in the county, as well as its environment. "We are pleased to be helping the Mascall Centre’s management team make this project happen and I look forward to seeing work start.”

The Bishop Mascall Centre Foundation is an educational charity, set up in a former Church of England school, 36 years ago to 'advance the education of the public and promote the principles of the Church of England'.

It does this by providing a multi-use community venue that offers meeting, training and community activity space for hire.

The Foundation also supports local groups wishing to start community activities.