A VILLAGE hall has won back the right to hold parties after spending £13,000 on sound proofing and double glazing.

The Vale of White Horse District Council revoked Radley Village Hall’s entertainment and alcohol licences 18 months ago following complaints about noise levels at functions.

Hall committee members estimate the decision has cost the village between £8,000 and £9,000, although they said they understood the need for the improvements to be carried out. The roof has now been insulated, and double glazing installed.

Village hall secretary Bob Johnston said: “When the hall was built, there weren’t any houses anywhere near it, but over the next 30 years houses got nearer and nearer, and noise restrictions got more and more onerous.

“In the end it got impossible to hold functions.”

Village hall chairman Graham Collett said the district council had taken action because residents living nearby had complained about rowdy and antisocial behaviour at two birthday parties in 2007.

He said revellers opened windows when the music was still playing.

He said: “We have decided it’s not sensible to try and get our alcohol licence back because there would be too much opposition and too many restrictions would be imposed, but we are very pleased to have our entertainment licence back.

“It’s very positive.”

Mr Johnston added: “It’s been a hell of a struggle and we thought we were never going to get there, but we did.”

The hall, in Gooseacre, was built in 1977 on land owned by Radley College as a replacement for the village hall built in Lower Radley in the 1920s.

Extended in the 1990s, it has a kitchen, a lounge with seating, disabled access and toilets, a raised platform at one end of the hall forming a small stage, and a large car park.

Radley Parish Council, the Vale of White Horse District Council and Waste Recycling Environmental Limited funded the new work.