THE National Village Halls Forum, which has been the voice of around 90,000 volunteers running village and community halls, is to close after almost 35 years.

ACRE, which runs an information and advice service for the country’s 10,000 village halls through its network of dedicated advisers, relies on the forum to facilitate access to village hall committees and for professional support, and is concerned about the reduced support now available.

Forum spokesman Alan West, from Ringmer in Sussex, said: “Volunteers trying to manage, rebuild and improve halls face a very difficult task raising funds and grants in the current financial climate.

“We sincerely hope the Comprehensive Spending Review will bring improved funding for ACRE’s network. It would cost so little for the Government to keep the service and the support it facilitates between halls.

“It is sad we have to wind up the forum before we have achieved important goals that would benefit communities across the UK.”

The forum’s grassroots role of lobbying of MPs has achieved a number of important changes that have protected charitable community buildings and saved communities throughout the UK millions of pounds.

They include the continued zero-rating of VAT on the construction of new charitable community halls, which was achieved in the face of an European Court judgement in 1988.

The forum also helped ACRE obtain appropriate licensing rules for community buildings and retain tax breaks such as rate relief and reduced waste disposal charges.