Villagers will see their decaying community centre get a £160,000 new lease of life this summer.

Work will start next month on a major refurbishment of the 40-year-old building in Trelogan, near Holywell, after Cadwyn Clwyd answered an appeal for help from Delyn MP David Hanson.

He has often held advice surgeries in the building but it has seen better days since its heyday in the 1980s when local groups and organisations used it almost every night of the week.

Mr Hanson said: “I have acted as a bit of a guidance counsellor to put local people in touch with Cadwyn Clwyd who have been able to help them out, in helping them take over the building from Flintshire County Council and then to get funding from the Welsh Government Rural Communities -Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Union for the renovation.

“The County Council didn’t have the resources available to upgrade it and as it became more rundown it became a less attractive venue for local organisations to use.

“Now thanks to the efforts of Cadwyn Clwyd and the local people themselves on the Centre’s committee it can look forward to being at the centre of village activities again.

“It has now gone from a situation of managed decline to managed improvement so that by the end of the year Trelogan will have a community centre that’s fit for purpose.”

Mike Williams, chairman of the Community Centre Committee, said: “I remember the centre being built in 1978 and it was used by organisations from the bowls club to the youth club, the mother and toddler group and for parties and dances.

“Over the years it has become neglected and rundown and problems with the roof meant it was damp and because of that fewer people wanted to make use of it, but now we can look forward to it being busy again.”

Helen Williams, project officer for Cadwyn Clwyd, said: “We were delighted to help out when David Hanson got in touch and we set about carrying out a study funded by EU LEADER cash to find out what was required and what the local people needed.

“That enabled them to take over the building from Flintshire County Council and access the funding which makes the refurbishment possible.

“It’s a really good example of partnership working between different agencies, initiated by the MP, with the result that Trelogan will soon have a centre to be proud of.

“This project shows how small scale investment through LEADER funds can lead to something quite significant for the local community”

For more information about Cadwyn Clwyd contact them on 01490 340500, email: admin@cadwynclwyd.co.uk or go to http://cadwynclwyd.co.uk/