Village halls and other community buildings are the focus for people who live in rural communities. In the past few years, many are no longer just a place to meet for social occasions but have blossomed into providing a venue for an impressive range of other activities.

These ‘village halls of the future’ need support and funding in order to flower and this week Defra launched an internet information hub to help communities develop and run these vital centres of rural activities.

The website has been designed to help rural communities to benefit from the variety of funding opportunities available for community halls. It has information and links to funding sources and other advice for those running local community buildings where rural people meet, or would like to meet in the future.

Rural Affairs Minister, Jim Knight said: "Successful village halls provide an impressive range of services and activities to meet the needs of their local communities, such as health services and sports, as well as the traditional social pursuits."

"Making the local village hall a success can be a big challenge, which requires not only imagination and commitment but also practical advice. Defra's new web resource will help, by improving access to essential information from all over the country."

The website has been developed in consultation with Action with Communities in Rural England, and has links to the 38 Rural Community Councils who have expertise in advising on best practice for managing rural community buildings.

It is a resource that will help the dedicated people who run village halls to find out, quickly and easily, how they can access, a whole range of funding, services and advice. It will help them to share their experiences of applying for and securing funding.

'Community Halls for Rural People' can be accessed at http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/communities/halls