A "TINY" club in the New Forest has been awarded £25,000 by the county council to complete its roof repairs. 

A maximum level award will see around 600 residents in the village of Martin in the New Forest benefitting from a £25,000 County Council grant, ensuring essential roof repairs to The Martin Club Ltd. 

Janet Richards, secretary for the Martin Club, said receiving the grant completed over a year’s worth of fundraising.

In addition to the grant from Hampshire County Council, the club previously received a £20,000 grant from New Forest District Council, £10,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund and £10,000 from the Bernard Sumley Foundation.

The Martin Club, founded in the 1930s, operates as a community benefits society and provides a space for a variety of services including bingo, yoga, table tennis, snooker, darts, film nights and a bar open three times a week staffed by volunteers.

It is not necessary to be a member to make use of the facilities and Janet said the club fills an important role in the community cohesion of Martin and surrounding villages. The club is the largest venue in Martin, with its main room having a capacity of 200 people.

The club offers important social opportunities for local residents, from local history exhibitions to film nights, and activity classes such as yoga and table tennis.

The venue is also hired out for private events, and hosts meetings for local community groups and the local Parish Council.

Janet said: “There’s no pub in Martin. There’s only a little tiny, tiny hall. It’s very small; it’s not a place where you could have a proper community event, and so [the club] is really the only place in Martin for those kinds of things.”

The roof repairs are only the start of a much longer programme of updates for the club, which will include the installation of solar panels, a renewable heating system and interior renovations in the coming years.

Janet said: “We’ve got a full programme of renovations planned to make it really nice.”

At his policy, resources and economic development decision day on November 10, leader of Hampshire County Council, councillor Rob Humby said: “Through repair works to two community roofs there is potential to install solar panels, which will help both facilities become more financially self-sustaining through more efficient and greener energy sources – while contributing towards reduced carbon emissions.”