A village hall is getting ready to celebrate its 50th anniversary with a rallying call to the community to help it plan for the future.The foundation stone for Bacton village hall was laid on November 14, 1959 and exactly half a century later, on Saturday a tea party will mark the milestone.

A village hall is getting ready to celebrate its 50th anniversary with a rallying call to the community to help it plan for the future.

The foundation stone for Bacton village hall was laid on November 14, 1959 and exactly half a century later, on Saturday a tea party will mark the milestone.

It has undergone had some cosmetic surgery, technical updating and an extension in recent years, but was outwardly still very much retained its original appearance, said hall spokesman Margaret Moore.

'Our hall may have reached 50, but there is no sign of a mid-life crisis,' she added. It was continuously looking for improvements.

It was considering installing renewable energy, thanks to a legacy of �5,000 from Eddie Haylett, which would not only help reduce the carbon footprint of day-to-day hall operation, but also add to the economic sustainability and help keep hire fees down, she added.

The project was however dependent on grant funding, which villagers could support by visiting the website www.thebiggive.org.uk and which could be backed by people making www.everyclick.com their homepage/browser.

Mrs Moore said 'a village hall is nothing with people' so locals were being invited to the tea party, which is being sponsored by Sainsburys at North Walsham, between 2-5pm to find out more about the building's past and future.

A new village hall garden group has also been set up to tackle planting around the hall, starting with spring bulbs.

Anyone wanting to lend a hand should call Barbara Stratfull on 01692 651236.

More information on www.bactononseavillagehall.btik.com