WHEN David Bennett looks out of his front window to see Little Eaton's new village hall, he feels an immense sense of pride.

The £740,000 building is the result of decades of fundraising and campaigning which he began in May 1984 and many believe it has surpassed the expectations of all those involved.

Mr Bennett was one of the founding members of the village's community association 26 years ago which really kick-started the project.

The Women's Institute building, which used to host community events, had just closed and the goal of raising funds for a new village hall was part of the new group's constitution.

Mr Bennett said: "It was not so much getting the kids off the streets. It was a case of creating something everyone could use.

"At that time there wasn't an amateur dramatics group in the village and we thought the new hall would make it easier to start one. Also, while there were places for people to play football, cricket and bowls, there were no other sports or activities arranged in the area.

"I wouldn't say it was boring but it was a dormitory village. People went to Derby to work and socialise and came home to sleep."

The 60-year-old said fund-raising began straight away, with everything from trips away to barbecues.

Another founding member, Doreen Ottewell, said it was not at first clear how much cash would need to be raised as the association would first have to buy land and the group did not know how much this would cost.

She said the group looked at 21 different sites and made three planning applications but that these were turned down by Erewash Borough Council.

Mrs Ottewell said: "This was for a variety of reasons. Parking, for example, and at one stage Severn Trent had said they would give us land but then withdrew the offer.

"Some of the members felt it would not happen and left, then, unfortunately, two of our members, John Somervaille and Loll Starbuck, died.

"But there were always five or six of us who stayed committed to the idea."

When Mr Bennett left the association in the mid-90s, current chairman Ray Ford had already been a member for several years.

He said at that time it was predicted that the hall would cost hundreds of thousands of pounds, but this sum grew over the years as the cost of building increased.

He said: "A few years back, members got to the stage where they were getting tired of waiting and wondering and some of those who were long established members were saying they would give it one more year and if we didn't get anywhere they would pack it in.

"But that never happened."

Simon Downing, chairman of Little Eaton Parish Council, said about £50,000 had been raised by the community association before 2005, when the council stepped in to apply for lottery funding.

He said that several previous applications had been made but were unsuccessful because Little Eaton is not a deprived area.

"Originally the lottery was mainly for areas of high unemployment, places where there were a lot of ethnic minority communities. Those were two boxes that we didn't tick," he said:

"It was only when new Big Lottery rules were brought in - which is aimed at projects which improve health, education and the environment – that we were able to successfully apply."

In total, £406,000 came from a Big Lottery grant and another £250,000 from the Government's landfill communities fund.

Other cash for the hall included £20,000 from Little Eaton's Women's Institute; £500 from Little Eaton Players; and £500 from Little Eaton Carnival Committee.

Erewash Borough Council gave £74,000, which was used to create the building's car park.

The new hall has a 120-capacity hall with a stage and sound system.

There is also an 80-capacity hall, meeting room and a heritage room, featuring old photographs of the village, is also being created.

The new building was first used on May 26 for the parish council's annual meeting and has since been used for opera, martial arts, keep fit, amateur dramatics and a play school.

Its official opening will be on Sunday, June 27, at 12.40pm attended by representatives from each fundraiser and retiring Little Eaton carnival queen Emily Januszewski.