THE craze for concrete has come to the end for one village hall as work started to strip out leaking concrete gutters and replace the roof.

Clearwell Memorial Hall was built in the mid-1950's says Chris Hamilton Smith, at a time when the nation's passion for concrete (and flat roofs) knew no bounds.

At that time everyone believed it would last for ever, but it doesn't and the decaying Finlock-style gutters sprang a leak last year, allowing water to drip into the hall.

Fast action by the hall's committee has secured a £26,000 grant from Biffaward, Grassroots and the Gloucestershire Environmental Trust to replace both the old roof and gutters.

The hall hosts a range of community activities from acting as the primary school's gymnasium to hosting a luncheon club, mothers and toddlers group as well as being the setting for local theatre, music, classes and meetings.

Replacing the roof and guttering follows on from a successful £56,000 refurbishment scheme for new toilets and better insulation and heating.

But hopefully, replacing the roof is another step on the road to creating a hall with a "zero carbon footprint".

John James, the village hall's treasurer, said they'll next be looking at installing an air source heat pump and photovoltaic cells on the roof to set an example to other halls in the area.

"What we'd really like is to be self-sufficient, and maybe even producing energy we could sell back to the grid," said Mr James