A north-east village hall has received a major cash windfall after councillors backed plans to renovate the building.
Stuartfield Community Council will now be able to spend £52,000 on a complete overhaul of the facility.
The work will include tearing out and replacing the hall’s ageing kitchen and creating a new store room.
Members of Aberdeenshire Council’s Buchan area committee approved the award of the funding yesterday and the money will come from developer obligation agreements.
Construction firms sign legal agreements with the local authority to fund community projects as part of the consents for major developments.
The council’s Buchan area manager, Chris White, said: “The hall is in reasonably good condition with scope for more usage.
“Getting more for communities from the facilities we have is really the only sensible way we can go in the future.”
Ritchie Johnson, Aberdeenshire Council’s director of business services, urged members of the area committee to back the proposal.
In a report he said: “The new store will allow them and others to store items easily and quickly, increasing the floor space available and making the room suitable for additional activities, thereby increasing revenue generating opportunities.
“Supporting the work of community councils helps to sustain communities within Buchan.”