SUPPORTERS of plans for a play area in Bosbury are calling for it to be added to a major refurbishment scheme for the Parish Hall.

The Parish Hall Committee will be seeking up to £283,000 for the development and residents will get their say at a public meeting on Thursday (February 19) at 7.30pm at the venue.

Improvements being considered for the hall include general refurbishment and redecoration, improved heating and work to the roof.

The work is expected to take up to 26 weeks, to be completed by autumn 2005.

However, the committee has not included a play area in its scheme, despite a campaign for one from villagers.

Supporters have already been given £5,000 from the National Lottery to develop a play area but that money will be withdrawn if it is not spent by March 2.

The Parish Hall Committee has not met calls for the play area to be sited at the venue.

Play area campaigners will be hoping that if the committee add it to the refurbishment scheme then the lottery money can be retained and used.

Brian Clutterbuck, a member of both the Parish Hall Committee and the Bosbury Jubilee Playground Committee, said: "This is seeking money with one hand and throwing it away with another."

However, he said failure to include a play area, and the withdrawal of lottery money, would not prejudice a Parish Hall lottery bid in the future, as the lottery treats applications in isolation and on their merits.

The total cost for the play area would be around £8,000.

The playground committee has found the rest needed through fundraising efforts, including a Bosbury gala in the summer of 2002.

If a play area is provided at the hall, it would not necessarily have to be run by the hall committee. It could be run by the playground committee or Bosbury Parish Council under a legal agreement.