TILFORD Village Hall and the Woodlarks residential home in Farnham, were among 23 projects to be awarded money from Surrey County Council’s Community Improvements Fund.

Leader David Hodge launched the initiative three years ago to give local groups the chance to get schemes off the ground which promise to provide lasting improvements. Schemes that have previously secured funding include a youth cafe, an outdoor gym and a village hall.

He said: “While our budgets are under pressure, we have a responsibility for ensuring Surrey’s future prosperity and these projects are all great examples of the council and residents joining together to provide lasting benefits for local people.

“Schemes that have already been helped are now enhancing communities throughout the county and the latest groups to secure money will undoubtedly make an equally positive contribution to their neighbourhoods.”

The Woodlarks Centre has benefited from £7,278 which will go towards furthering the Vitamin G Project. As a result of this project, a run down and rarely used area of the centre’s garden has been cleared and rejuvenated.

Raised beds have been built and a large table top created, so that residents and also local elderly people who are living with dementia can also use the garden for therapeutic gardening activities.

Community fundraiser at The Woodlarks Centre, Gill Butler, said: “We were thrilled to have been allocated the funding and the garden project will make a difference to people’s lives.

“The monies will be spent on providing awning or some sort of shelter on a patio adjacent to our building, which will enable residents to continue with potting and other gardening activities even in inclement weather. We also hope to buy other gardening materials and equipment so that in the spring we can start growing herbs and vegetables.”

The benefits are endless for those at the centre, as studies have shown that being in a garden and gardening leads to a reduction of pain, improvement in attention, lessening of stress and a reduction in the need for medication. There is also evidence that volunteering can increase a person’s well-being and sense of worth.

The Tilford Village Hall, which benefited from £30,000, was built by one of Britain’s greatest architects Edwin Lutyens in 1893. Up to 1933 the hall was known as the Tilford Institute, which many still refer to it as despite the change.

Trustee Will Harris said: “The Tilford Institute has been disused since the 1920s, and the public lavatory has been empty for number of years now. We will be replacing it with a new place for cricketers during the summer and for schools and charities during the week – at the moment cricketers are sitting on the roadside.

“We started planning midway through last year and got approval from Waverley Borough Council September this year, and we have been fundraising as the total cost is £70,000. We are massively grateful for this grant, as we wouldn’t have been able to do it as soon without it.

“We commissioned a competition to choose a winning architect and through a panel of 30 people including trustees and users of the groups, Martin Edwards was chosen. He was very happy, he is a very talented man and I am happy to be working with him.”

Elstead Village Hall was also among those to receive a chunk of the grant (£15,000) for upgrades and safety works to the kitchen for community groups to utilise – however they managed to complete this prior to receiving the grant, and have up until May to come up with a new project.